


The Gift of Power, but with added Astrid this time (Dance of Power but more Astrid Trilogy: Book I)

by The Wildehopps Protection Agency (WHPA)



Series: Dance of Power but more Astrid Trilogy [1]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dark, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Mythology, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Blood and Gore, Blood and Torture, Blood and Violence, F/M, Virgin-on-virgin sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:55:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29029059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WHPA/pseuds/The%20Wildehopps%20Protection%20Agency
Summary: It's literally just The Gift of Power, but Astrid leaves with Hiccup this time. Underage warning because there is teenage sex.
Relationships: Astrid Hofferson & Stormfly, Astrid Hofferson & Toothless, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Stormfly, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Toothless, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson, Stormfly & Toothless (How to Train Your Dragon)
Series: Dance of Power but more Astrid Trilogy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2129631
Comments: 52
Kudos: 17





	1. Discovery

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TriumphantFury](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TriumphantFury/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Gift of Power (Dance of Power Trilogy: Book 1)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23531413) by [TriumphantFury](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TriumphantFury/pseuds/TriumphantFury). 



> Everything in this work was done 100% with the original author's permission. If you want to read the original, there is a link to their work on the "Inspired by" tab. This has also been gifted to them. TriumphantFury, if you're reading this, here you go. You're welcome for the gift, by the way. I own 0% of anything beyond the altered events (because of Astrid's change of location). The story credit goes to TriumphantFury, and character credit goes to Dreamworks or TriumphantFury, depending on which character you're thinking of. And, other than things that have changed because of Astrid's decision to leave with Hiccup, I am planning on keeping this story as close to the original as possible (which, in the beginning, will be _extremely_ close. Hell, the first chapter except for about the last five paragraphs is basically just a copy-and-past (with author permission, of course).

How is he so fast?! Astrid cursed inwardly as she chased after the slight figure ahead of her. It was bad enough that he had overtaken her in dragon training, seemingly effortlessly. He should NOT be faster than her too! He was dodging around trees and rocks with unexpected grace for such a small and awkward boy. Though she supposed that, being a hiccup, his small size would have to give him some advantages in the thick overgrowth.

Thank the gods she was a skilled hunter and knew this forest well. She managed to keep her prey in sight despite his head start. He seemed to be travelling with a purpose. Though Astrid wracked her brain, she could not possibly imagine where he was going. As far as she knew, there was nothing of interest in this direction until you reached the high cliffs of the coast.

Just then, the flash of green and brown cut to the left and disappeared from view. Once Astrid reached the spot she realized that what she had always assumed to be a solid rock ridge, did in fact have a small opening in it. She darted into it. Slowing her pace before reaching the other side. Perhaps he was waiting at the end to ambush her? She doubted he had that in him. She was the great warrior. He was a mouse among men. More likely that he was trying to hide from her.

She paused at the mouth of the cove, readying herself to spring out and surprise him. Then she heard him talking to someone. He wasn't bothering to keep his voice down. Was he not aware that he was followed here after all? Then why was he using so much stealth in the first place? Unless he just had something to hide.

Before accosting him, Astrid took a quick moment to appreciate the beauty of this place. It was almost perfectly round with a small lake in the middle of it. A creek bubbling in from the west side. It would be a very peaceful spot to practice or just to sit and think. No wonder Hiccup came here. She crept out from behind the rocks, keeping low so that he wouldn't spot her. She did not want to be caught too soon.

"We're leaving! You and I are taking a little vacation. Forever..." Hiccup called to no one that she could see. Was he talking to himself? Strange words if that was the case. Why come to this cove at all if he wanted to escape? Was he meeting someone here? Who?

She figured now was as good a time as ever to confront him and his mystery companion. Crouching behind a boulder was never going to get the answers she sought. After climbing the stone to give her the high ground advantage, she unholstered her axe and began pretending to sharpen it. Hiccup was a few paces from her with his back to the rock. He seemed to be packing up supplies in a basket. He turned abruptly at the sound of stone on blade and then jumped at the sight of her.

"A-Astrid! Wha-what are you doing here?" Hiccup stuttered, stumbling back a few more steps. It was at this moment that Astrid realized he was wearing some sort of leather harness on his upper body. She climbed down from her perch and began to bombard him with questions. How did he get so good in the ring? Who was he training with? Why was he wearing this ridiculous harness? A noise off in the shadows distracted her and she turned to investigate. When the idiot tried to get in her face and stop her, she dropped him. Then she winded him with her axe handle for good measure. Just then a chilling low growl followed by a large black shape with glowing eyes came at them out of the darkness.

Her battle training kicked in and she threw herself down, taking Hiccup with her. She then rolled away and jumped to her feet, axe held at the ready. "NO!" Hiccup shouted. He leapt on her, catching her by surprise and allowing him to disarm her with strength she did not believe him to possess. After tossing her axe out of reach he ran to the dragon and held it back. Her eyes felt as if they were going to bug right out of her face as she watched the vicious black monster calm under his touch. When he told her she had scared it, it was more than she could take. She turned on her heel and began to run in the direction of the village.

So this was what he had been hiding! A dragon! All Astrid could think to do was get to the village as fast as possible. Should she tell Stoick? What would she tell him? She hadn't even stayed long enough to find out what Hiccup was doing with the dragon. Come to think of it, where did he even get a dragon? So distracted was she by her thoughts that she failed to hear the sound of wing beats until they were already on top of her.

Her feet left the ground as she felt sharp talons gently, but firmly, grasp her by the shoulders and hoist her above the treetops. Screaming, she grabbed at the powerful forelegs of the creature holding her. It released its hold over a tall pine and she grasped desperately at the branches for a handhold. The beast landed beside her, bending the tree with its weight. Sitting astride it, in some perversion of a mounted knight, was Hiccup.

How dare he kidnap her with a dragon and then try to calmly explain? As if she would listen to him! If she hadn't been hanging from a tree she would have hit him. Instead, her only option was to climb on the back of the horrid reptile to get down. She did roughly bat his proffered hand aside as she went to climb on. Pride not allowing her to accept it. With a quick snap of wings the dragon launched himself into the sky.

***

Astrid felt her stomach drop out of her body as the trio tore into the heavens. The dragon was twirling and rolling so fast she could barely stay on its back. She made a grab for Hiccup and wrapped her arms firmly around his middle just as the beast folded its wings and went into a steep dive. Astrid sobbed into his back. Apologizing for what, she wasn't even sure. All she wanted was to be back on solid ground. As quick as the terrifying ride started, it was over. The dragon, "Toothless" she remembered Hiccup calling him, opened his huge wings wide and levelled out into a peaceful glide. She finally got up the nerve to lift her head, and her jaw dropped.

They were so high up! The ocean stretched endless and blue below them. Brilliant reds and fiery oranges reflected off the swells that appeared no larger than ripples on a pond from this height. Above her were mountains of fluffy clouds. They appeared to be soft as brushed sheep's wool, but when she reached out her arms, her hands passed straight through. Hiccup, seeing her intrigue at the texture, banked Toothless upwards and they climbed through the thick wall of pink fog.

On the other side it was a whole new world again. The sky was a velvety blanket of night. Scattered here and there were pillars of clouds. It was as if giant fluffy fingers were trying to grab for the stars. Overwhelmed with emotions she had never experienced before, Astrid wrapped her arms around the boy in front of her again as the dragon took them back below the clouds. Night had truly fallen now. Far below them she could see small lights dotting the ocean's surface. With a start she realized that the lights were the hearths of Berk. It looked so small from up here. She allowed her chin to drop onto Hiccup's shoulder as she tried to take it all in.

***

His body stiffened slightly at her closeness, but he said nothing. A small smile playing on his lips as he felt her sigh against his ear. Her breath ghosting over his neck and cheek, causing his heart to stutter. Hiccup gently guided Toothless back to the cove. Hopefully Astrid would give him a chance to talk to her now. She seemed calmer at least and she had dropped her axe in the forest when they grabbed her. He fought back a chuckle as the image of her flailing and screaming in Toothless's talons popped into his head. Hopefully she would forgive him for that. Some day.

He slid from the saddle as soon as they touched down and offered his hand again to help her down. He only made the gesture out of politeness, fully expecting to be rejected again. He was therefore stunned when Astrid absently placed her hand on his as she climbed down. The surprise must have been plain on his face because she blushed and quickly put both hands behind her back. Rolling awkwardly on the balls of her feet and not looking at him.

"So what do we do now?" she asked quietly. When he didn't answer right away, she lifted her eyes to his. He could feel his emotions trying to overwhelm him, but he fought them back. Meeting her gaze, he felt a steely determination fill him as he prepared to tell her the truth. "I still have to leave Astrid," he sighed quietly. He glanced toward Toothless for a moment before focusing his attention back on her.

"I cannot kill that dragon tomorrow because I know it is wrong. Dragons are kind, playful, and wonderful creatures when you give them the chance to be. I can't tell my dad about Toothless because he would just kill him without even trying to understand. Look me in the face and tell me that the village would still accept me if they knew I allowed a night fury to live. Never mind that I gave it my friendship. I chose this path the moment I set him free. Who knows, maybe I'll discover a way to end this war while I'm travelling." He chuckled softly to himself as this last thought struck him. The war had been going between Vikings and dragons for 300 years. What difference could one runty little runaway make?

***

Astrid couldn't deny the truth in his words. The village would never allow Hiccup to keep Toothless. They would likely kill the dragon and cast Hiccup out for his deception. She grumbled, "So where does that leave us? Where does that leave me?" Especially now that I know about you and Toothless, how am I going to just go back to the way things were before?

When she met his gaze, she could see his overwhelming need for forgiveness written in his deep emerald gaze. She had never realized just how beautiful his eyes were before. They seemed to bear his soul wide open and what she saw there made up her mind for her. "When are you leaving?" She asked softly. "You should at least talk to your dad first, Hiccup. He would be devastated if you were to leave without telling him something." What am I going to say to Stoick, she thought to herself. Astrid had never liked keeping secrets. It made life far too complicated. Besides, she had never had anything to hide before.

"I'm leaving tonight. I already left a note for my father explaining that I left to seek knowledge on how to end this war. I made it out to seem as if I found a friend who knows where I can get the information I need. Emphasizing that I must do this on my own and begging him not to come looking for me. It is not the entire truth, but it should be enough to placate him and keep him from exiling me. Or discourage him from trying to find me, I hope. You may tell him what you wish, Astrid. I did not mention Toothless, but I cannot stop you from doing so. By the time you reach the village, I will be long out of their reach anyway. They will never be able to catch me. We both know that." He was so calm and sure of himself, that Astrid had to believe him.

She knew he was right too. On the back of Toothless, the village would never be able to catch or track him. She felt a strange sense of pride blossoming inside her as she looked at the scrawny runt of the village. He had grown strong all on his own. Despite everyone trying to beat him down.

"I'm not going to tell anyone, Hiccup. Just promise me something before you go."

"Anything, m'lady" he replied promptly. Astrid blushed again at his words, as well as at what she was about to say. Mustering her courage, she gazed into his honest open face, trying to memorize it. She wasn't sure how long it would be before she saw him again.

"Be careful. Stay safe; and please, come back someday. If you can. I don't want to believe that this is the last time I will ever see you." Her cheeks were burning crimson as she turned her eyes to the ground, embarrassed at herself. She had always found the quiet boy at the forge interesting. She was just always too afraid to show it or speak of it.

Everyone else thought he was a weakling and a screw-up, but she had never believed that. He was kind, intelligent, and creative. All traits that her village never failed to underestimate. She had never stood up for him because she was too afraid that the others would discover her feelings and make fun of her for it. Now he was leaving. She may never get the chance to tell him. She was trying to find the strength to confide this when she felt a gentle finger under her chin.

Hiccup carefully brought her face up to a level with his again and smiled softly. "I will Astrid. I promise that I will try not to do anything foolish or reckless while I'm gone. Unfortunately, this is me we're talking about" he joked lightly. She chuckled at his attempt to lift the awkwardness between them. How was he always so articulate? He was suddenly serious again when he spoke, "I will miss you and think of you every day that I am gone Astrid." Her breath caught in her throat.

Before she could overthink it, she leaned forward and quickly placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. "That was for everything," she confessed awkwardly. Then she hopped off the rock and rolled on the balls of her feet again, waiting for him. He seemed to be in a state of shock. She just giggled. "If you want to leave while it's still night, then you'd better get going. Dragon-boy!" She joked. Hiccup shook his head and slid to the ground beside her. With a mock salute, he called Toothless over and secured his basket of supplies to the dragon's back. Then he climbed into the saddle and strapped himself in.

He looked back at her once more as if he wanted to say something. After opening and closing his mouth a few times, he just smiled crookedly and gave Toothless a nudge. They took off with a gust of air strong enough to make her stumble back. Once she regained her balance, she looked up and desperately searched for any sign of the boy and dragon. It was no use. Toothless' black hide made him nearly invisible against the night sky. With a resigned sigh, she turned and headed back through the forest towards the village.

On the way, Astrid ran through her options for tomorrow. Surely Stoick would find the note Hiccup had left for him. How would he react when he found out that his only son had left Berk? Would he be furious at Hiccup and mark him as a coward? Or would he understand that it was for the benefit of everyone that he had gone to seek answers? Astrid hoped so.

At least no one knew that she had followed Hiccup tonight so she would most likely not be questioned by the council. Everyone knew that she had been furious at him for excelling in dragon training; gods knew she had not been quiet about it. It was unlikely that anyone would suspect her of knowing anything about Hiccup's plans. As she thought this, she suddenly remembered that tomorrow was the final in dragon training. If Hiccup wasn't here to kill the Nightmare, who would? She refused to be the one to kill it on principle since it would feel like she was just a stand-in for the real champion. Would she be able to sit by and watch someone else kill it now after meeting Toothless?

With that thought in her mind, she decided to take action. Once she reached the edge of the forest, Astrid crept around the edge of town heading for the kill ring. Keeping low and to the shadows in case anyone happened to be awake at this late hour. She managed to reach the arena without seeing a single soul. She could only hope that the night patrol men were taking a break since she did not have time for a distraction. After one more glance around, she raised the gate as quietly as she could manage and made her way to the first dragon pen. Pulling the wooden locking beam aside to open the door. Inside was the nadder.

It was curled up on the floor of its pen, asleep for the moment. Astrid called softly to the dragon to wake it as she tried to calm the panic inside her. The nadder opened its bright amber eyes and lifted its large head to gaze tiredly towards her. Astrid, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible, held her hands up. Keeping her empty palms out and kneeling down as she began talking softly to the dragon. She told it that she was a friend who was trying to set them free. Still unsure whether or not the beast could even understand Norse.

The nadder slowly rose to its feet, worried that this might be a trick. The female hatchling was alone and unarmed though, which eased her suspicions. The two-legs were usually too cowardly to take her on one-on-one like this. She followed the young two-legs out into the ring and stretched her wings.

Astrid was amazed she had even gotten this far without being cooked alive or eaten. Perhaps Hiccup was right about the dragons. Or maybe these ones were just very accustomed to humans. Once the nadder was out into the main ring, she began talking to it again, still not sure if it could understand her. She asked it to calm the other dragons as she released them from their cages and then fly far away from here. She did not want them to be hurt or captured again. The dragon nodded in what Astrid hoped was understanding and moved to stand behind the human girl.

One by one she set all of the captured dragons free. The nightmare made towards her aggressively when she opened its pen, but the nadder squawked at it angrily. It turned away and headed towards the exit gate with the rest of the beasts. The nadder then gave Astrid a long, searching look. Astrid herself suddenly had a strange and overwhelming urge to reach out and touch the dragon. It was as if her body was almost on autopilot, her hand creeping closer, and closer, and closer, until the nadder bumped her nose into Astrid's hand. Suddenly, Astrid felt a warm tingly sensation across her back that left behind a warm, comforting feeling.

"Stormfly," she simply said. _What?_ But the name simply seemed to fit. "That's your name now. Go. Be free."

But the Nadder didn't budge. It simply stared at her, as if it was waiting for her to do something.

"You're free now. Go. You don't need to live in a cage now."

The nadder continued to wait. And stare. It was starting to get unsettling for poor Astrid.

"What are you waiting for? You can go," but the more the nadder waited, the more she began to dread the nadder leaving her behind.

Suddenly, the nadder squawked and made a motion like an eye roll, and proceeded to pick up Astrid, who yelped in surprise, by taking her tunic in its mouth, and plop her on its back. And then she took off.

"Woah!" Astrid yelled, completely unprepared for Stormfly's sudden takeoff.

"I… guess I have no choice, huh girl?" Astrid asked her dragon once they were airborne and flying steady. Stormfly just squawked in reply.

"I guess if I'm gonna go with you, I have to leave a note. Drop me by my house, please?" Astrid said. To Astrid's mild surprise, Stormfly did as she was requested. As they approached, she found the shutters open on her bedroom window. She directed Stormfly to land underneath the window, then shimmied up the side of the wall and pulled herself over the window frame, landing quiet as a mouse on the wood floor. She then walked towards her desk and grabbed a parchment and some ink, which she used to scribble a hasty note. " _Had to leave for a long while. I may not come back at all. See Hiccup's note for more details,_ " it said. Then, turning towards her bed, she noticed the moonlight glinting off of something silver resting on top of her sleeping furs.

Once she got close enough, she could see that it was her axe! Hiccup must have picked it up from the forest floor and brought it back to her room before leaving Berk. Her heart gave a small flutter at the thought of him taking the time to sneak into her bedroom to return her axe, despite being in a hurry to escape the village. She snatched it up gratefully and hugged it to her. Then she noticed a small note attached to it. " _What is a Valkyrie without her axe?_ "

Astrid chuckled. "You're goddamn right about that, Hiccup." She then leapt out the window, landing very catlike on her feet, and strapped her axe to her back. Then she gave a quick whistle before whisper-calling Stormfly's name, who leapt out of the shadows in the bushes where she was hiding. Leaping onto Stormfly's back, she said, "Alright. Ready to go." And with the same startling rush as before, Stormfly leapt into the air and they flew out past the coast of Berk in pursuit of Hiccup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The best part of this chapter, to me, is when Stormfly refuses to leave without Astrid. I can't help but chuckle at that particular scene because I can only imagine that slightly derpy music that plays whenever something doean't go 100% your way because of some random annoying mild inconvenience (Stormfly just staring at Astrid.)


	2. Travels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, while TriumphantFury definitely has amazing banter in her works, I think I may have her beat in that department. Seriously, I about killed myself with laughter at some of the hijinks that ensue here. Plus, there are some smexy times near the end, too, so that's always good.

Hiccup awoke to the sound of birds singing and a large black membrane stretched over him, as well as the feel of the feminine form of Astrid sleeping in his arms. He could hear the deep, even breaths of the large and warm body beside him, as well as feel the soft breaths of Astrid ghosting across his arms. He peeked out from under the dragon’s wing to see the sleeping form of Stormfly, her body slowly rising and falling, which meant that he was the first up. Damn! Guess it was his turn to catch breakfast. Groaning, he nudged Toothless in the belly. Causing him to roll to the side and retract his protective wing from around Hiccup. The sky was still a soft shade of pinkish-orange so it must still be close to dawn. With one last glance at his slumbering friend, he grabbed the make-shift fishing pole off the ground and headed down to the creek.

Biding his time on the shoreline, Hiccup began to reminisce about the events that had brought him to this place. First was shooting down Toothless. He still felt extreme remorse over hurting his friend and taking away his ability to fly. Despite having done his best to return it, Toothless still needed him. No matter how good of friends they seemed to be he would always wonder if, deep down, the dragon only put up with him to avoid death. After all, a downed dragon is a dead dragon. Shortly after that, they had left the only home he'd ever known. In the dead of the night after Astrid had kissed him goodbye! He still could hardly wrap his head around that. But then things got even weirder.

He thought about holding her sleeping form in his sleep last night. Yes, she had followed them, and caught up with them the following morning.

 _Gods, she is insane_ , Hiccup thought when he thought about her unexpected arrival. Of course, it was not unwelcome, but what do her parents think now? They have to be worried, at least, if not terrified.

It had been just over a moon since they had left Berk together and they had spent most of that time hop-scotching their way across the various small islands of the archipelago. Days had been spent finding a secluded spot away from a village to set up their poor excuse of a camp where no one would find them accidentally. Nights had been spent sneaking into the village proper under cover of darkness to steal whatever supplies they had been unable to do without.

Hiccup and Astrid did feel bad about this theft at times, but most of the currency of the north was traded goods or services. Neither of which they could provide at this time. They could hardly waltz into a Viking village with a night fury and ply their trade to the nearest blacksmith in exchange for provisions. Especially not with the constant worry that his father may have parties out searching for them at that very moment. They just couldn't risk anyone seeing and recognizing them. No, they were sure it was better to just return one day with something of value to leave in each village that they had stolen from.

Recently, though, their situation has improved slightly. After many long hours spent over open water (Hiccup had not enjoyed this part at all, to Astrid’s infinite amusement) the four had finally arrived at the mainland. It was a place that they had only ever heard about in epic poems sung on drunken nights in the great hall. Eddas of exploration and discovery shared alongside the classic sagas. They were not very numerous, but always exciting. Told in often embellished detail by the seasoned old sailors that visited from other tribes. All of them tales of apparently legendary men that no one had ever heard of. Most just believed that they were just fantasy stories.

Few Berkian natives had left their small island in almost 300 years except to visit neighbouring tribes for trade or to renew treaties. Near constant dragon raids had led to food, timber, and weapons shortages. In such times as these, no one would dare waste the village's winter larder on a fool's journey to some place that likely didn't even exist. They could confidently say now that it was real. They had joined the ranks of those mythical heroes and no one would ever hear about it. No epic poems would be written about them. A couple of outcasts on the run.

They only knew that it was a new land, not of the archipelago, because of the homes and inhabitants that they had observed since they arrived here three days ago. They spoke in a strange language, and wore clothing that was mostly simple and functional. Though most also had strange curling symbols on at least one article or object on their person. The symbols seemed to curve around themselves in a beautifully unending pattern, almost like a knotted rope.

" _Wow. I guess we’re legendary now,_ " Astrid had quipped on their first arrival to the mainland three days ago.

" _You could say that_ _again,_ " Hiccup agreed.

" _Okay. Wow. I guess we’re legendary now._ "

Hiccup smiled to himself at the memory, which, at the time of its formation, had seemed annoying.

 _But I don’t know what I would do without her and that beautifully annoying voice that comes out of those pretty lips. Woah! Where had_ that _come from?!_

Shaking his head to clear his mind of the thought, he refocused on the task at hand. And just in time, too, as his flimsy fishing pole was bending, tip towards the stream. He snatched it up promptly and gave it a tug to seat the small metal hook. Then he drug the line bit-by-bit with his hands. He should really try and build something to make this easier. Once the fish was on the shore he picked up his fishing pole again. Then he gathered up the rest of the morning's catch as well and began to wander back to camp.

Of course Toothless and Stormfly could catch many more fish much faster than him. Still, he liked to do his part where he was able. In his own defence, he was getting better at it too. They already carried him and Astrid and their supplies, hunted large game for them when opportunity allowed, and protected them from animals and humans alike during their land times. Speaking of doing his part, he really needed to sneak into a village tonight and find a new fishing pole. This one was nearly done in.

Although, perhaps here they were far enough away from his Viking brethren. They might be able to go into the town during the daylight hours and barter with their trade instead of outright stealing. Surely, no one would know them here. It would make it much simpler to find what they wanted and needed rather than getting by with the little that was left out at night. Perhaps he could even make himself and Astrid a bow and some arrows so that they could help their dragons hunt the large deer that roamed the forest near their camp. A short sword for each of them might prove useful as well if they needed to defend themselves from hostiles while on the mainland.

He and Astrid did not know these people or their cultures enough to guess how they would react to Toothless and he wasn't willing to risk that. He would need to learn how to use both weapons properly before Toothless would let him wander too far on his own though. That dragon was seriously a mother hen! Hiccup wasn't entirely convinced that he was indeed a boy dragon.

His thought-voice was undoubtedly masculine though, yet still seemed to be too young to suit him when Hiccup had heard it in his head. That first moment was still firmly planted in his mind. Toothless had been trying to teach Hiccup how to bring down a wild boar with only his dagger when something went wrong. Hiccup found himself suddenly being chased by a whole herd of the evil pigs. Toothless' panicked roar had been deafeningly loud when Hiccup jumped off the cliff into the waiting ocean, drowning out poor Astrid's screams of terror for Hiccup.

At first he thought he had imagined someone screaming his name. When he realized that this was indeed his friend calling out for him, he nearly drowned out of shock. He had been pulled from the water and none-to-gently deposited back on dry land. Then Toothless had launched into a tirade of guilt trips and shaming words that reminded Hiccup strongly of his father. He blushed and looked at the ground morosely.

" _Wait! Can you hear me?_ " That strange, almost teenage voice had said. There was a breathless, but also guarded quality to the voice that made Hiccup think that whoever it was didn't want to get their hopes up too much.

" _Toothless? Is that you?_ " He'd said it out loud. He had no idea how it worked in reverse. Could the dragon just hear every one of his thoughts now. Or did he have to do something special to direct his thoughts to the dragon. Maybe he was actually just coming down with a fever after all the stress and the long, cold nights with no proper shelter. That was probably it.

Toothless however, had gazed at Hiccup in wonder. His black pupils blown wide. Only the barest hint of green around the edges as he curled his lips into his dragon version of a gummy smile. " _I have been trying to talk to you for ages now! I wonder what changed? No matter, the connection is working well. Yes, I can feel the spark of your mind through our bond,_ " Toothless muttered distractedly.

A few days later, the same thing happened with Astrid and Stormfly, and ever since then, they had all been able to communicate with each other (as apparently Hiccup could hear Stormfly through his connection with Toothless, and vice-versa with Astrid and Toothless). Together they had spent their free days exploring the islands they came across and learning to use their new gift. Hiccup actually found that projecting his thought-voice to his friend was much easier than he initially believed it would be. Turns out it mostly took focus, imagination, and intelligence; three things he had in spades, unlike Astrid at first, who wasn’t really patient or imaginative. She was intelligent, though. More than once this connection had saved their lives.

The first time was when they had accidentally ventured too close to Helheim's Gate shortly after leaving Berk. Toothless and Stormfly had been caught by the overpowering mind control of the nest queen. She was a gigantic monster that was bigger and more terrifying than anything Hiccup or Astrid had ever imagined. It was only thanks to them retaining their own wills that they were able to free Toothless’ and Stormfly’s mind before they were eaten. Now that they had seen the queen, they were glad that his father had never managed to reach the nest. Surely the whole tribe would be destroyed if they were to bring about her wrath.

The next near-death incident had occurred when they had landed on a beautiful forested island with a strangely glittering beach. It almost appeared as if the sand was on fire. The effect was quite mesmerizing and it seemed to be the perfect spot to spend the night. Hiccup and Astrid had hopped off as soon as they landed and wandered to the beach to inspect it. The whole thing seemed to be littered with strange orange stones that were see-through and very smooth, as if polished.

When Hiccup turned back to show Toothless the stones, however, he noticed his friend was very distressed. Stormfly, too. He probed their mind connection and found that a strange sound in the air was drawing the dragon in like a siren song. Sensing that this could only mean trouble, Hiccup lent his mind to help Toothless fight the call, and Astrid lent hers to help Stormfly. But, before leaving to try a different island, Hiccup stuffed as many of the strange stones into the saddle bags as he could for later study. If anything, he and Astrid may be able to trade them somewhere along the way. Traders often paid a good price for beautiful items.

Hiccup was drawn out of his memories by two eager dragons, one black and one blue, and an eager blond female waiting impatiently for their fish at the edge of the camp. He picked out one good sized one for himself and another for Astrid, and threw the rest to Toothless and Stormfly, along with the inners and head from his own and Astrid’s after cleaning them.

" _I'll never understand why you humans refuse to eat the tastiest parts of the animals, and then insist on warming the rest before ingesting it._ " Toothless grumbled at him as he roasted his and Astrid’s fish over a small fire.

" _It’s because they literally can’t digest their meat without heating it first. Something about ‘food poisoning,’ I think._ " Stormfly’s distinctly feminine voice responded.

" _So they eat things that could poison them? How in the world does_ that _make sense?_ " Toothless questioned. " _Not to mention that your answer doesn’t even answer my question of why they leave out the best parts?_ "

"Because the best parts to _you_ , are the most disgusting parts to _us_ ," A slightly annoyed Astrid quipped, to Hiccup’s mild amusement, as they began to eat their fish.

" _Hey, don’t knock it ‘till you try it,_ " Toothless quipped back, a mild tone of amusement slightly coloring his words. Hiccup just laughed to Astrid’s dismay.

“Hey!” she said, directing her teasing at Hiccup. “Who’s side are _you_ on? ‘Cause last I checked, you’re a human too!”

“The dragons’,” Hiccup answered easily, causing Toothless and Stormfly to struggle to remember how to breath as they choked on their laughter.

“Why you-” Astrid said, dropping her fish to playfully lunge at Hiccup, tackling then tickling him. “You’ll pay for that!” she yelled as Hiccup laughed uncontrollably due to Astrids “vicious” onslaught.

“Okay! Okay! Okay! You win Astrid! You win! I surrender!” Hiccup yelled between laughs.

“Promise?” Astrid questioned, her right eyebrow raised inquisitively.

“I promise,” Hiccup answered between gasps of breath.

“Good,” getting off of him, she held her hand out, which Hiccup took so Astrid could pull him to his feet, and they made their short way back up the hill to where the dragons were waiting. Once there, they resumed eating in a comfortable silence.

After they had eaten, Hiccup left Astrid and the dragons behind to try his luck in the village (Astrid’s claim that she needed a “food nap” caused Hiccup to chuckle). He managed to find the blacksmith's stall without too much issue. The older man standing at the bellow's cast a wary eye at the young man before him. Hiccup, not sure if the man would be able to understand Norse, tried to figure out how best to communicate what he wanted. He suddenly wished that Toothless could be here with him.

Dragons had a natural ability to understand most languages and sense the intentions of others before they could act on them. Clearing his throat with a nervous cough, he decided to just try conversing with the man first. The man was very tall with ropey muscle chording his neck and arms. He reminded Hiccup of his father, except that the man had black hair. Perhaps this man would just get angry and run him out of town.

His fear was unfounded. The blacksmith was well versed in Norse and agreed to allow Hiccup to use the forge to build his weapons. He only requested payment for the supplies needed. Hiccup got to work right away, bringing out the plans he had been drawing up for a new style of bow that curved one way and then back on itself. This, he deduced, would make the shot more accurate and powerful while using less force to draw it. The blacksmith was very impressed with his idea and they began to work side by side in the forge while making small talk.

The man said that his name was Eret and that he had sailed around the islands in the west in his younger years. This is where he learned to speak the language. He sometimes still went out on the ships when times were lean, but his son had mostly taken up his position now that he had become a man. When Hiccup inquired as to what they were doing for work out there, Eret simply said that he was a trapper for hire. Not wanting to press his luck, Hiccup let the topic drop. Sensing that Eret did not wish to tell him any more.

They continued working until the sky began to darken, when Eret suddenly stated that it was time he went home for a good meal. His family would be waiting. As Hiccup cleaned up his work station, Eret suddenly asked him if he had somewhere to eat and sleep tonight. Even offering to take him in if required. Hiccup was a little surprised, but extremely grateful. He politely declined and bid Eret good night, returning to the camp and its other three occupants for dinner and rest.

When he arrived at sundown, however, he found Astrid missing.

“ _She went down by the river to go fishing,_ ” Stormfly explained upon seeing Hiccup’s confusion.

“Oh, ok. Thank you,” Hiccup replied, walking off in the direction of the aforementioned river.

“ _Those two are getting married and having children,_ ” Toothless observed. “ _Six hundred pounds of fish says so._ ”

“ _Oh, I agree. There could not be a more perfect couple,_ ” Stormfly chuckled.

Meanwhile, Hiccup spotted Astrid right where Stormfly said she’d be, using the light of a torch so she could see what she was doing as she fished.

“Hey Hiccup,” Astrid greeted without turning around.

“Hey.” Hiccup sat down next to her. “How goes the fishing?”

“See for yourself,” Astrid said, gesturing to the dozen-or-so brown trout piled next to her on the opposite side of Hiccup. Suddenly, the fishing rod began to bend, and Astrid lunged at it, digging her heels into the ground as she and the fish played tug-o’-war for either the fish’s death or freedom, depending on the outcome of the match.

“Hiccup!” Astrid grunted. “A little help please?” Hiccup darted over to Astrid, and together, they were able to finally pull the massive trout onto the shore. Then they both collapsed onto their backs from the exertion.

“Holy… Shit…” Astrid gasped between heaves.

“I know right? That thing had to weigh at least… _thirty pounds_!” Hiccup concurred.

They continued to lay on the ground, catching their breath, until Hiccup got up and brought Toothless down to carry the fish back up the hill to camp for Hiccup to gut, clean, and cook.

Once Hiccup finished preparing and cooking all of the fish, feeding the dragons all of the “best” parts, he and Astrid began to eat the cooked tasties.

“Okay. This is my new favorite type of fish,” Astrid said, her mouth full of fish meat. “Definitely way better than the Tuna we typically eat back home.”

“Agreed,” Hiccup replied. They continued eating in silence. After they finished, they then crawled back under Toothless’ wing and fell asleep with Hiccup spooning Astrid.

The next day, Astrid decided to go with Hiccup, the latter trusting Toothless and Stormfly to “Be good, kids.”

“ _Ha. When are we not?_ ” Stormfly fired, humor coating her words.

“Since you practically _kidnapped_ me from Berk,” Astrid shot back. “I’m not complaining, though.” At this, Toothless and Stormfly chuckled as the two teens walked towards the village.

“So,” Astrid began, “what should I expect to see when we get there?”

“Well, for starters, they’re nice as all Hel. Seriously. This guy, Eret, he offered to let me stay in his house while I was here. I turned him down, of course, because of you and the dragons, but still. Also, Eret and his family are the only ones that speak Viking. Everybody else speaks a strange sounding language.”

“Okay,” Astrid acknowledged. “That’s good to know.”

When they finally arrived at the outskirts of the village, the first thing Astrid noticed was, yes, the language. It sounded, in a way, kind of elegant, although she didn’t know what they were saying, and for all she knew they could have been cursing each other out. She took his hand, threading her fingers through his, and he led her to the blacksmith shop, where Eret was dutifully working on a sword for someone.

“Hiccup!” he greeted upon seeing his new friend. And then he saw the blonde girl accompanying him. “Who is this?”

“Eret,” Hiccup said, “this is Astrid, my-”

“Girlfriend,” Astrid interrupted, a smug grin gracing her lips, as Hiccup spluttered in complete surprise.

“Oh really?” Eret chuckled with a knowing smirk. “Well, if you two decide to get… busy,” he waggled his eyebrows, only flustering Hiccup more, “then don’t do it in the blacksmith, please. Odin only knows what bad things could, and would, ensue if you decided to do it here.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Astrid said, Hiccup still hiding his beet-red face.

“Anyways, so are you gonna continue work on your bow, Hiccup?” Eret asked.

Hiccup, who was _beyond_ grateful for the change in subject, answered, “Oh! Yeah! C’mon, Astrid, I have to show you this. It’s so cool!” And he grabbed her hand and practically dragged her back to show her his bow.

They stayed at the smithy until after sundown, at which point they headed back to the camp, lit a torch, and headed down to the stream to fish for fish.

“So, not complaining, but what made you say that? We’re not even dating,” Hiccup asked.

“Yes we are. You heard me. Unless… you don’t want me…” Astrid hung her head as a single tear leaked out of her eye. She was afraid of this, getting rejected by Hiccup, her one-and-only.

“Astrid,” he hooked a thumb under her chin to tilt her head up and turn it to the side to make her look at him, “look at me.” Upon seeing her tears, he kissed her on the lips, gentle, but enough to get his point across. “I _do_ want you, Astrid. I was just surprised, is all. And I’m curious now, why?”

“Well, I… have to confess that I’ve been crushing on you since… we were about six? I believe? Anyways, you’re smart, cute, kind, funny, and, not to mention, hot as Helheim in summer on the sun…” Astrid trailed off.

“Astrid, I had a crush on you since I was thirteen. You are the most gorgeous, sexy, smart, beautiful young woman I have even had the pleasure of laying my eyes on. Not to mention that you were the only person in the whole village that treated me like an actual human. Hel, you even defended me from the others! What’s not to love about you?”

“Aww, Hiccup, you’re so sweet…” Astrid cooed. Hiccup kissed her again, this time a little rougher and deeper. Astrid reciprocated by wrapping her arms behind his neck. They pulled apart to catch their breath before Astrid smashed her lips back into Hiccup’s, her hand tugging at the hair on the back of his head. Then, his hands began to wander, trailing down her back until they reached her waist. He gave a light squeeze, asking for permission to go lower, and Astrid accepted. He pushed his hand underneath the waistband of her armored skirt, something that Astrid, while she welcomed it wholeheartedly, did not expect, if her mewling gasp was anything to go by, and started playing with her ass cheeks.

Astrid, in turn, began grinding her aching crotch against Hiccup’s bulge, causing him to moan, and kiss her more feverently. They were intoxicating to each other, each other’s kisses like the breath of life, one they could not survive without.

Eventually, Astrid felt Hiccup slowly leaning her over until she was laying on her back in the cool grass, and then his lips pulled away, causing Astrid to whine pathetically.

“Now now, Astrid. Have patience and I will make you feel extra special,” Hiccup cooed in a teasing voice that Astrid found _hot_. She whimpered as she felt Hiccup’s hands undoing the clasp that secured her skirt, and mewled once she felt Hiccup pull both that and her undergarments down. He then pulled off her tunic and her bra, Astrid arching her back so he had an easier time of doing so. In no time at all, she was wearing nothing but her skin, and it felt _oh so good_. In a flash, Hiccup was just as naked as her, and kneeling over her beautiful form, his rock-hard dick lined up with her glistening pussy. Slowly, he pushed in, both of them groaning pleasurably at the feeling of losing their virginity to each other. He then bottomed out in her, causing her to coo, and then he slowly pulled back, causing her to whimper, and then he thrust in. _Hard_. And Astrid cried out. Soon, the sound of skin slapping skin was heard, as well as Astrid’s pleasured screams, by none other than Toothless and Stormfly.

“ _Sounds like they’ve decided to make the baby before marriage?_ ” Toothless asked, his eyes wide with mortification.

“ _It’s young love, Toothless,_ ” Stormfly replied, her voice tinted with humor. “ _Let them have their fun._ ”

So went the routine for many days. Hiccup and Astrid would return to the forge shortly after an early flight and breakfast with their respective dragons, then stay until after dark, when they would return, and then there was a 50-50 chance of them going at it like a couple of sex-crazed wild rabbits as Toothless and Stormfly continued to place bets, not on _if_ they were gonna get married, but on _when_. Hiccup was making decent progress with his bow, and she was working on a new axe in the smithy, as well. They had completed their short swords some time ago. Yes, despite Astrid not being a fan of swords, even she had to agree that it was sometimes better than having to swing an axe around all the time. They found that they quite liked Eret. The man was calm, intelligent, and skilled in his trade. He was also quick to lend a helping hand or a clever insight, whichever Hiccup or Astrid might require.

They had been using their time in the village proper to observe these strange people. The villagers seemed to find them equally interesting. They had noticed one woman in particular that seemed to watch them more than the others. She never approached or spoke to them though. This woman was always dressed in a white hooded robe with many of the intricate knotted patterns adorning it, and accompanied by others in different coloured cloaks. They could only assume that they were some sort of spiritual order.

One morning, as they were making their way to the village, they heard a strange sound. It was the distress call of a frightened animal. Never being ones to allow the needless suffering of a living creature, they decided to find the poor beast. They tracked the cries to a small glade, where they found a bright green terrible terror caught in a trap. Speaking soothing words to calm it, Hiccup began to free the struggling dragon, as Astrid kept a lookout for the trapper.

Once it was loose, Hiccup quickly ran his hands over it to check it for injuries. Finding it mostly unharmed, he tried to shoo it away. The thankful terror simply scampered up his arm and wrapped its warm body over his shoulders, causing Astrid to giggle a bit, its large yellow eyes staring at him gratefully as it began to purr against his neck. Just then, a voice rang out from the forest behind them in the language of the locals.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" They turned abruptly and saw an angry young man striding across the clearing towards him. They hadn't understood the words the man had spoken, but they could tell it wasn't a friendly greeting. The man was tall and burly, with dark hair tied back and some of the strange blue tattoos on his chin. He was glaring daggers at the freed dragon and empty trap. Hiccup cowered back slightly, Astrid protectively (and somewhat possessively) stepping between him and the man, as the terror on his shoulder faced down the intruder and growled menacingly.

The young man froze at the sight of the small boy with the terror and girl protecting him, but he was too angry to pause for long. Normally he would not be so bothered with losing a terrible terror. He had however, been trying to capture this particular terror for years. It had become quite skilled at stealing from the fishing boats during transport from the dock to the village. Now this silly couple had set it free and he would have to catch it all over again. Even worse, it would now be wise to this particular trap and he would have to figure out another method.

Seeing trouble brewing, Hiccup quickly reached out with his mind to contact the terror. " _Fly away. You must leave, for I cannot protect us both. I will be fine, but you are not safe here._ " After a brief glance in his direction the terror nodded and took off into the trees. The furious young man strode forward and grabbed Hiccup and Astrid by their arms. He began to roughly drag them towards the village without a word, Astrid stunned to silence at the audacity of the man. Hiccup frantically tried to think up a way out of this. As they came into sight of the first homes, people began to gather in a curious group.

Eret came out of the forge and pushed his way past the others. "What is the meaning of this my son?" The older man asked in Norse. Hiccup and Astrid could only assume that this gesture was for their sake and he was grateful to the blacksmith for it. They realized a second later that the blacksmith had called this young man his son. Admittedly they could see the resemblances between them now that they were looking.

The trio came to a stop in front of the gathered villagers and the young man addressed the people. "I just caught this boy and girl releasing a dragon from one of our traps in the forest. They side with the beasts and cannot be trusted. They are not even one of us! We need to cast them from our village quickly, for only one of the Femoiri would befriend a dragon!"

They were busy studying the faces of those around them. They all looked suspicious and some even looked angry or afraid. _So we were right to keep Toothless and Stormfly away from here,_ he thought dejectedly. _Did everyone hate dragons as much as his people?_ This didn't look good for him. He could feel Toothless' worry flooding through his mind, but he urged his friend to stay away. He couldn't allow him to take on a whole village alone and they would never escape in time.

Just as he was wondering if they would be able to reach the forest at a run before they noticed they were gone, the mysterious robed woman stepped forward through the villagers. The people moved back to allow her to pass and a hush fell upon the whole setting. The woman spoke in a soft, but commanding voice in fluent Norse. "Unhand them." When the young man did not relinquish his hold, the woman reached up with delicate tattooed hands and pushed back her hood.

Hiccup was startled at how young she appeared. Her wise and ancient green eyes in stark contrast to her pale, unlined face and bright red hair. "I said unhand them. I have received a vision. Neither Hiccup nor Astrid are to be harmed. I fear that if anything were to happen to them now, it would bring great destruction to our land. I was planning to bring it forward at the village gathering tomorrow, but given the circumstances..."

Here she trailed off as she raised her shoulders in a delicate shrug. "Details aside, they have done nothing more than protect the life of an innocent creature. It is for the Order to decide whether or not they are to be punished. You forget your place, young Eret. You should not allow your anger to rule you so. Falsely proclaiming a young boy to be a demon will get you nowhere."

Eret the Younger immediately dropped his hand and took a step away from Hiccup and Astrid, bowing his head. Looking properly cowed he mumbled, "Yes, my lady. You are correct of course. My apologies."

Eret the Elder stepped in at that moment to draw the focus away from his son. With a swift, confused glance towards the couple he asked, "Divine interpreter, may we ask of what your vision held?"

"That is between me and this young couple here. I assure you that when it comes to pass, you will be immensely grateful that you chose to spare their lives this day. You would all do well to earn their friendship and respect instead."

Hiccup and Astrid were unsure if his situation had just changed for the better, but the woman did not seem angry. To the contrary, she was looking at them intently and when they met her gaze she offered them a soft smile. Her expression gave Hiccup the courage to voice his own questions.

"Who are you? How do you know us? Why would you have a vision about us?" He faltered for a moment before adding, "I am no one of any importance." Hiccup frowned to himself at these last words. They were more true than anyone here could comprehend.

“So many questions," she chuckled. "I am the Druidess Brighid, and you two are far more important than you give yourselves credit for."

Secretly Hiccup thought that she must be mistaking him with someone else. "Might I be so bold as to inquire what a druidess is, and to thank you for sparing our lives?" He was mostly wondering how she held such authority over the entire village. This seemed the most polite way to ask that question. He was reminded strongly of Gothi, the ancient healer and shaman on Berk to whom the chiefs had always looked to for guidance.

"I am a high priestess of the order of druids and I am many things. I help to interpret the laws of the land and the will of the Divine Beings that guide our world. I am also a healer, a mage, and a seer. Gifted with visions of what will be and what may be if the correct path is followed. I have been patiently waiting for the moment you would prove yourself worthy. Now I can finally offer you my knowledge, Little Shadow Rider and Axe Wielder, for you two have a very important destiny."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone else read Brighid's lines in Moz's voice, or is it just me? Also, if two virgins have sex, are they both still considered virgins?  
> Also, reading through this chapter, i have noticed a minor discrepency. It will be fixed tommorrow, as I cannot be bothered to do anymore story work tonight. I just wanny YouTube and chill.


	3. Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was planning on going on a temporary hiatus after this chapter, but then I found a convenient way to speed up the "conversion process." I won't tell you though, unless you're TriumphantFury, which in that case if you want to know, ask, and I'll PM you, because it's my secret conversion recipe. It took a week to finish chapter 2, and a day to finish chapter 3, for reference as to how well this new method speeds things up.

Looking back at that day, Hiccup and Astrid realized that had they not chosen to free the terrible terror, their lives would be completely different. Their future had just seemed like a winding path with no clear end in sight. Now they felt pulled in many directions by forces they could barely comprehend. They still hadn't decided if having an ordained destiny was even something they wanted. It felt like a lot of responsibility to place on the shoulders of the village failure and warrioress-in-training, but more so for the failure. Brighid and the rest of her order had taken them under her wing as some sort of apprentices. The high priestess had not revealed the full contents of her vision to anyone, but she had been firm that they were to have a very important place in the world and required proper training if they were to survive.

Most days now, Hiccup and Astrid were with the Order. Studying meditation, politics, and learning to interpret the flow of the natural world around him. It was very fascinating to them and their equally intelligent minds picked everything up extremely quickly. Though they were finding meditation a difficult practice to learn as neither had ever been good at sitting still and quiet for extended periods of time. In fact, it only agitated and irritated them, which seemed to amuse Brighid greatly, which, in turn, only irritated them more.

“Why do we have to do this?!” Astrid whined, pulling on her hair. “I want the magic already! C’mon! This is _so boring_!”

“You two are like little children,” Brighid said, a small smirk gracing her lips.

“Well what do you expect? Forcing an inventor and a warrioress to sit still?” Hiccup shot back.

After they were released from their studies, they would return to Toothless and Stormfly, and they would fly to the coast and talk about all that Hiccup and Astrid had learned that day. Then, Hiccup would return to the village to put in a few hours at the forge with Eret senior, while Astrid fished. (She wasn’t really interested in building weapons. That was more along Hiccup’s forte. She just liked using ‘em.) He enjoyed helping the older man to complete the busy work that was needed to keep the village running smoothly.

During these hours, Eret senior had been teaching Hiccup the local dialect, who, in turn, would teach Astrid when he got back to camp. It was a strange language, but they were beginning to grasp it. They could manage simple requests and conversations now. By the end of the day though, between learning a language, learning to magic, and teaching a language to Astrid, Hiccup’s brain felt like a wrung sponge and he was mentally exhausted. he was barely able to stay awake long enough to eat dinner with everybody else before passing out on the ground where he sat. Only to wake up and do it all again the next day, causing Astrid to worry about him.

Eret the younger had also begun to open up to Hiccup. He had taken it upon himself to train the scrawny boy in self defence and weapons use (Astrid not needing the training due to her already advanced proficiency in weapons). They had started out with sticks, but now practiced with the short sword that Hiccup had made, as well as with daggers and hand-to-hand combat. At first, Hiccup was afraid of the muscular warrior, but Eret turned out to be a patient and knowledgeable teacher. Never before had Hiccup done so well during a spar. He doubted he would ever be able to beat Eret, but he was getting stronger. His arms did not shake as much when he held his sword, and his movements were becoming more coordinated. You could never call him graceful exactly, but he had stopped tripping over his own feet or falling down every time he went to parry or attack.

Yet, they still had not told anyone about Toothless or Stormfly. They were sure that Brighid knew, but she had never said a word to either of them, or anyone else. The others in the village had taken to calling him by a shortened, local version of the name she had given him. After he had been referred to as Scath on more than one occasion, he had inquired about it. Eret senior had explained to him that Scath Rothai meant Shadow Rider in the village’s native tongue.

Hiccup found that he actually liked this new name. It sounded mystical and heroic. Two things that he certainly wasn't, but hoped to become one day. He never let on to Eret that he knew why she had called him this though. Conveniently, the villagers had long since given up on questioning the mystics.

Still, it had become increasingly difficult to divide their time between all of their duties and friends, while still keeping the dragons a secret. They stayed on their guard around everyone, afraid to let something slip about either Toothless or Stormfly. Careful to also not give away who he was and that he was on the run. They never shared a meal with Eret and his family, despite being invited many times. Neither Hiccup nor Astrid knew what to do about this situation though. Toothless was unable to fly without Hiccup and he was unsure of who he could trust enough to not put his friend in danger.

Hiccup had also been expending a great deal of effort to convince the Eret men to give up dragon trapping (Astrid had given up a while ago, calling it a “lost cause”). Though as much as he tried to explain to them about the true nature of dragons, he had to admit that he had not offered them any proof. Without it, they were unlikely to give up their livelihood at the words of a strange boy from unknown lands with no past. One night hope arrived in the form of the small green and red terror that he had freed. It flew into the campsite and came right over to Hiccup. Toothless growled at it, but quickly changed it to a grunt of acceptance when he realized it was the same terror from Hiccup's memory. Also, he got a bit of a slight scolding from Stormfly, which helped as well.

The four of them shared their remaining fish with the small dragon before turning in for the night. From that moment, the terror had stayed with them. Hiccup had begun training it to do simple tricks in what little spare time he had left. He hoped that showing the people how the small dragon was able to understand commands and was intelligent enough to follow orders might just be his best bet.

He took the chance one night after a particularly productive day at the forge. When Eret senior invited him and Astrid to share their meal, he agreed. Full stomachs made everyone more agreeable. After a delicious meal, the two-and-a-half men and one half-woman gathered around the hearth for friendly talk and mead. Eventually the topic came round to dragons with Hiccup again trying to sway the others. After going around in the same circles as always, he decided now was as good a time as any. "I would like to show you something, if you can promise to keep an open mind." Hiccup stated as he began to walk towards the door.

The two men exchanged glances, shrugged, and followed the young man and woman outside. Once they reached them, Hiccup raised his fingers to his mouth and produced a shrill whistle into the coming night. They all stood and waited in silence for something to happen; the two Erets wondering what Hiccup could possibly be up to. Suddenly a small green shape came zooming out of the edge of the forest straight for them. Young Eret reached for his sword, but Astrid held out a hand to stop him. "Just wait and watch," she said quietly.

The small terror zipped over and landed gently on Hiccup's shoulder. His large yellow eyes gazing towards the other two men. Using his mind to calm the terror and tell him how important this was, he turned to the Eret men and pointed at the dragon. "This is Sharpshot. I have been training him. He can understand Norse quite well and can perform most simple tasks if asked correctly." Hiccup and Astrid were unsurprised when they saw that both of the men just looked at him as if he were crazy. Perhaps a demonstration was in order.

"Sharpshot, please fetch me some apples." The dragon took off and was back in a flash with as many of the small fruits as he could carry. Without pausing to see the men's reaction to this, Hiccup took them from him and placed three on some upturned buckets. "Sharpshot, multi-blast." Quick as a flash the terror rose and fired off three successive fire balls, taking out all three apples. Even Astrid was surprised and impressed by the little dragon’s speed. Then he returned to Hiccup's shoulder.

After giving him a scratch under the chin, Hiccup then quietly picked up another apple and tossed it into the air. The dragon took it out with another fireball. He turned to take in the open-mouthed looks on the two men's stunned faces. "How did you do that?" Eret senior exclaimed after he found his voice again.

"Dragons are incredibly intelligent and friendly creatures. As I have been trying to explain to you. They do not wish to harm us and often only react in self defence. Don't just take my word for it though, watch. He will not hurt me even when given the opportunity." With this, Hiccup tossed the remaining apple to Eret the younger and asked him to place it on a bucket.

He then told Sharpshot to fly to the barrels and blast the last apple from there. Just as the dragon was building up his flame shot, Hiccup stepped in front of the bucket. Putting himself between the terror and the target. Sharpshot quickly closed his mouth and swallowed the building fireball. Being unwilling to chance harming the boy.

"That was incredible! I've never seen anyone offer themselves up to a dragon flame before. This creature has been well trained." Eret the younger stated with a hint of admiration in his tone. Sharpshot flew down and perched himself on Eret's shoulder at these words, purring loudly and nuzzling against him. After a few tense moments, Eret reached up and scratched the terror under its chin as he had seen Hiccup do. The dragon closed its eyes and leaned in to his touch and that was it.

Hiccup and Astrid could see the moment that both men were won over. Eret senior came over to scratch the terror as well, the light of possibility shining in his eyes. Sharpshot simply climbed his arm and settled onto his shoulder next. It was honestly hard to reject the adorably tiny and friendly dragon. Though the young couple had to admit that it was an awfully big step from a terrible terror to a night fury and deadly nadder. That introduction would take some hard thinking on his part. From then on though, Sharpshot usually accompanied Hiccup to the village where he would help Eret senior in the forge. Mostly by bringing him tools and running errands.

***

One day in late summer, Brighid informed Hiccup and Astrid that they were ready for the next step in their training. She said that it was time they were initiated in the ways of magic. The ceremony would begin at sunset. This meant that Hiccup and Astrid had the whole day to themselves… mostly. They returned to the glade and spent the time conversing with Toothless and Stormfly about what the druidess had meant by magic. Did she mean real magic, like in the eddas? He had never known anyone to use it and had always assumed that only the gods had the knowledge and ability.

Sharpshot was especially interested in these stories Hiccup and Astrid spoke of. He had never even heard of magic. As Hiccup began to regale the three dragons with the epic tales he could remember from his youth, with Astrid supplying the occasional supporting snippet, despite her never being one for storytelling (“a useless skill for a warrior,” she had said, to Hiccup’s amusement) a sense of homesickness began to wash over him. Not so much for the place, he realized. More so for the people. At least for certain people that they had left behind.

He missed Gobber's terse parenting and silly antics in the forge. He missed Brenna Hofferson, Astrid's mother, who had always been kind to him as a boy. Especially after his own mother had been taken during a raid. Most of all though, he missed his father. Yeah, he could be a little bit of a douche… okay, a lot of bit of a douche, but he still was Hiccup’s father, and he loved his father all the same. Gobber would have certainly been upset after he realized Hiccup was gone. If only there was a way that he could get word to them. Just to reassure them.

His eyes landed on Sharpshot and an idea occurred to him. "Have you ever been to the archipelago, Sharpshot? Or, more specifically, Berk. Were you one of the dragons from the queen's nest?" He knew that it was a long shot, but he hadn't encountered many dragons this far east. There was a very slim chance that the little dragon had escaped from the nest, but he wasn't getting his hopes up.

" _Yes, I have been there my lord. I managed to escape from that evil murderer and have been hiding here ever since. Why?_ "

This was not the answer that he had been expecting. Excited now, he still took a moment to grumble about the ‘my lord’ comment. Ever since he had freed the terror from the trap, the small dragon had insisted on referring to him as 'sir' or 'lord'. No amount of effort on his part had broken the dragon of this annoying habit. Now though, he had more pressing matters to attend to than unnecessary formalities. "If I wrote some letters, do you think you would be able to deliver them to people on Berk for me?" Hiccup waited with bated breath while the terror considered this.

"I don't see why not," he finally said. "It would take me some time to fly there and I would need to know who I was looking for, but otherwise it shouldn't be too difficult. As long as I stay far enough away from the evil queen's nest that is."

Ecstatic at this new possibility, he wrote two notes in his journal and tore the pages out. He also tore out a sketch he had done of the village and surrounding wilderness and added it to one of the letters. He then rolled them up and wrote each recipient's name on the outside of the scroll. One for Stoick and one for Gobber. Gobber should be able to explain things to his father for him.

After tying the scrolls to Sharpshot's hind leg, Hiccup sent a picture of Stoick through the mental link, so that Sharpshot would know who to look for. He also made it so that the terror could easily untie the ribbon by himself and leave the parchment, showing him how to do so, so that he could leave the parchment in a safe place and leave before Stoick arrived. He trusted that the terror would stay out of harm’s way and that Stoick would get Gobber's letter to him somehow. His chest felt lighter as he watched the small green shape disappear into the sky, then he and Astrid returned to the village that evening with a new sense of purpose, ready to face their next set of challenges.

***

When they arrived back in the village, Brighid was already there waiting for them. As they reached her, she drew her hood up and wordlessly strode away. The three of them headed into the forest through the gathering night. It was full dark by the time they reached a large circular clearing containing a strange ring of standing stones. The remaining order members stood spaced around the outside of the stone circle holding torches; their faces shadowed by their hoods. The overall effect was impressive. _Very mystical_ , Hiccup thought to himself.

Brighid led him into the center of the circle, so that only the two of them were within the standing stones. The priestess motioned for Hiccup to take a seat as she settled across from him. "Scath Rothai and Astrid Hofferson, you have been initiated in the ways of the order and you have proven yourselves to be worthy disciples. It is our collective agreement that you are ready to take the next steps in your journeys. The next discipline you two shall learn is that of magic. Magic of the earth, magic of life, magic of essence."

The torch bearers chanted back her last words in an eerie unison. Hiccup and Astrid could feel an almost static feeling ripple across the clearing, like just before a lightning strike. It made the hairs on their necks stand up. Fighting back a shudder, they turned their focus back to the woman in front of them. She lowered her hood, settled her green eyes on him, and continued in the same low voice.

"Magic is a rare and powerful gift that is not bestowed upon all beings. Most have to train for many seasons before they are even ready to attempt it. Some will only ever be able to sense its ebb and flow through creation. Thus allowing them to predict the changing seasons, coming storms, and the productivity of the harvest. Others may be able to manipulate certain aspects of it in an indirect way. Such as calling on the winds in times of drought to hopefully bring rains, or encourage flood waters to drain around a village. These are subtle yet powerful gifts that the possessors do not take lightly."

"Very rarely, there comes a master who is able to channel their will into the world around them. This being would have the ability to draw on the near unlimited magics within nature to strengthen their own powers, giving them untold control over the essences of life. Such a powerful sorcerer has not been seen for many generations. We must only rely on stories handed down to warn us of the dangers of using so much magic."

"I can see how that sorcerer would be considered dangerous by others, but what danger could possibly come to them? If they can bend the whole world around themselves, would that not make them nearly indestructible?" Hiccup had to ask. He and Astrid did not really understand what she meant by the essences of life, but it didn't sound very dangerous.

"The use of magic is quite draining on the system. You have a limited amount of energy, or essence, at your command. Your life is spent once the balance of essence is no longer in your favour. To bend the world to one's will would require an incredible amount of this energy. This means that such magic would likely kill the user. Possibly before the spell was even completed. If you survived, you would likely be driven mad by the negative energy that would race to fill the void left behind."

This all sounded very dark and dangerous to the couple. Though they had to admit that it would be exciting to be able to control the wind. That would certainly help when flying with Toothless and Stormfly. _What if I couldn't use magic though?_ Hiccup thought. _I have never been special or very good at anything before. Why would I suddenly be good at this? Or worse, what if I tried too hard to prove myself and gave too much energy up in the process? I was also famous for that back home. How many times have I almost been killed because I was trying too hard?_

Astrid was faring a little better. _We could die?! What would I do without Hiccup? What would he do without me?! Okay, Astrid, you cannot fuck this up. Put your warrior girl face on. You are a warrior. Only in training, but you. Are. A._ Warrior _._

Swallowing down their nerves, they took one glance around the circle before coming back to Brighid. "Why are these stones here? Why are the others standing outside of the circle while we are inside it?" Hiccup asked nervously.

She smiled reassuringly at him. "These stones surround an ancient source of energy that comes from the very earth herself. They help us to channel and use this energy to extend or amplify our own powers. As for why the others are outside of the stones; it is always difficult to tell how a first foray into magic will turn out. Usually, it is mostly uneventful as it takes many years to harness and manipulate the essence. Sometimes a particularly powerful apprentice will catch on too quickly and unexpected magic will burst from them. The others will keep this energy from escaping the circle and causing harm to others if that ever happens. As I said before, this is very unlikely. Okay, let’s start with Scath."

Hiccup felt the brush of Toothless's mind against his. His friend was letting him know that he was watching from just beyond the light and would be here in a flash if needed. He had complete faith in his brother, but still wanted to be close. He was also a little curious. Taking comfort in his dragon's presence, Hiccup began the ritual of clearing his mind of all exterior distractions. Once he was relaxed, Brighid advised him to search inside his mind for a pocket of energy. She said it could not be explained as it was different for everyone, but that he would know it when he felt it.

Hiccup probed his deepest consciousness and finally found a strange resistance. Almost as if his mind had a door that was stuck shut with disuse. Willing his consciousness to push against the door, it began to budge. Bit by bit he began to see a glow around the edges. Finally with a last great heave, it swung open and the light inside rushed out of it.

The strange light flowed over his mind and down through his body like a tidal wave, leaving a pleasant tingling in its wake. He breathed in and felt the warmth thrum in his chest as the air essence entered his core. Opening his eyes, he glanced around at the surrounding order to see if anything had changed. That was when he noticed that they were all chanting in low voices. They were using ancient words, but he found he could understand them. They spoke to the wind and water, earth and fire. They spoke of protection and begged assistance from the spirit realm. It felt very powerful.

"Have you found it, Little Shadow? Can you feel it inside you?" Brighid asked him, likely expecting him to say no. She had said this should take years, not moments.

"Yes! I do feel it!" Hiccup stated, Astrid’s jaw dropping. The surprise in his tone was mirrored in the faces of others, but the order did not falter in their chants. Brighid herself looked strangely pleased. Without commenting, she asked him to call to the earth essence and summon a stone to his hand. She said that it would be easier if he voiced the desire out loud in whatever language he felt most comfortable with. The ancient languages were used for more powerful spells, but at this stage, the words were not as important as the intent behind them.

Hiccup found a stone on the ground near his feet and held out his hand, palm up. Then, focusing on the stone with all his might he commanded "stone rise!" Astrid watched in enraptured fascination as, incredibly, the stone lifted off the ground as a faint green shimmer ran over his palm. He was so surprised that he promptly lost focus and dropped the pebble back to the dirt.

"It is okay Little Shadow. Do not be afraid of the magic." With this, she held out her own hand and said a word in a language he did not recognize. A glow of beautiful rainbow light filled her palm as a different pebble lifted off the ground to gently land in her hand. He and Astrid looked at her in shock for a moment, but she just smiled at Hiccup softly. "Try again."

Brighid spoke with a calm authority that instantly soothed him. She would not let him harm himself or others; and she could obviously do this. He held his hand out and focused again. This time he succeeded in raising the stone and bringing it closer to softly settle in his palm. The whole clearing was silent now as the others stared in wonder at this obvious display of power. Most of them had never been able to successfully summon despite years of devoted training. There was also an undercurrent of fear. If the young man before them could perform a summoning on his first try, what might he be capable of with time and practice?

“Okay. Astrid next,” Brighid said. “Just focus on your subconscious like Hiccup did. And, again, it is different for everyone, but you will know when you find it. It could be as simple as a tiny box, or it could be a locked door.”

She closed her eyes and began. Eventually, she stumbled across something. It appeared to be a closed door, but she had no idea where it had come from. Approaching it, she could see blue light seeping through the seams. This must be it, she thought in excitement. Reaching out, she grasped the handle and tugged. The door swung suddenly wide open on its own as that strange tingling warmth began to flow through her. Travelling from her mind, and down into her body. Filling every limb with a curious heat that sang of power. Opening her eyes, she met Brighid's gaze with her own, and a huge smile grew on her face. "I did it," she exclaimed happily. Brighid's answering smile was elating as she grabbed Astrid's hands in her own.

“Now, I want you to do the same thing as Hiccup. Remember to say what you want out loud, as it will make things easier,” Brighid explained.

Astrid held out her hand and, focusing with everything she had on a nearby rock, said, “Stone rise!”

Next thing she knew, the stone rose as a faint light, this time blue, captured it, and Hiccup watched in the same fascination Astrid showed earlier as the stone settled in her hand.

“I did it!” she said with glee, the biggest smile in the history of ever gracing her face.

"Good job you two. I think we will leave it there for tonight. You must be tired my pupils, and you will need your rest if you are to keep practicing with your magic." Brighid's voice startled Hiccup out of his state of shock and he and Astrid looked at her. She motioned for them to stand and follow her out of the circle, the other members falling into line behind them. Once they arrived back at the village, everyone except Brighid went their separate ways to return to their homes. Hiccup and Astrid, however, felt strangely energized and wanted to keep practicing.

Brighid must have seen the eagerness written on their faces, however. "I suggest you get some rest. You will begin to feel the drain of the magic use soon enough." With that she turned and left. Once she was out of sight, they wandered back towards the trees and called to their dragons with their minds. He, Astrid, and their dragons had much to talk about and a nighttime flight might be just what they needed to clear their heads.

They must have stayed close, because Toothless and Stormfly suddenly bounded out of the shadows before them and began nuzzling the humans and carrying on about how awesome it was that they could use magic. So wrapped up were Hiccup and Astrid in their friends’ giddy exclamations, that at first they did not realize that all four of them were still in full view of the village. A door creaking open behind them sounded ominous in the still night air. Then they heard a loud exclamation of surprise and the sound of an empty water bucket being dropped.

He and Astrid turned around slowly, grasping desperately at the slight chance the observer had been startled by something other than the large dragons behind them, one black and one blue. Their eyes both fell on Eret the younger and there could be no doubt. Eret had seen the dragons. A look of shock frozen on his face, Eret took a slow step back and turned his gaze to Hiccup and Astrid.

"Holy wolves of Odin! That's a deadly nadder! And _that’s a bloody night fury!!!_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, you may start to notice that Astrid is less insecure in this story compared to the original. That is because her insecurities develop while Hiccup is away. Since she is with Hiccup, she won't get insecure or nervous about the things she did in the original. Instead, she will become more impulsive, like Hiccup. Also, because of certain... knowledge that I have about her, I think Astrid's level of crazy is going to make Hiccup look 100% sane and normal in comparison. Please don't fuck with her. I'm _begging_ you: _Please_ , for the love of god, _don't_ fuck with her.


	4. Communication with Berk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After this chapter, I'm going to go on a temporary hiatus for a month, because I have to do some things in order to get my shit back together lol.

It had taken some quick thinking and a little help from Toothless to keep Eret from running, screaming through the village. Once the initial shock had worn off, Hiccup and Astrid introduced the family to their dragons. He was exceptionally glad that they had gotten them used to Sharpshot first or they doubted they would have handled it quite as well. It had still taken a fair few days for them to stop flinching whenever the night fury or deadly nadder moved or made a noise. Eventually, though, they did manage to relax around the dragons, and had even come to enjoy the black beast's playful nature (The blue beast, though? Not so much. She was more like your typical “Leave me alone, dammit!” cat, only really interacting with Astrid and Hiccup. She was docile, though, and did put up with everyone.).

After Eret had seen them with their dragons, Hiccup and Astrid had given up sleeping in the forest. They were exceptionally glad of this as the seasons began to change. Though the weather was milder than what they were used to, it would still have been very unpleasant to spend the nights on the ground in the woods. The villagers had been surprisingly accepting of the dragons, as well. It was better than either Hiccup or Astrid could have ever hoped for. Eret senior had even cleared out a spot in the smithy for Toothless and Stormfly to sleep in after he had realized that the dragons were well trained. It also helped that they were quite good at heating metal in the forge in much less time than the traditional coal and bellows method.

Over the next moon, Hiccup and Astrid continued to practice magic with Bríghid. They found that they had definite aptitude for controlling the essences and took much joy from this, though their most notable abilities were in the mental arts. He excelled at shielding his own and Astrid’s thoughts, while she excelled at breaking down the shields of others. The mental arts and magic combined gave Hiccup a sense of power and self-worth that he had never thought he could find.

He had never excelled at anything other than smithing before, while she had never excelled at using anything other than an axe. There was one particularly memorable evening that weighed on their minds however. They had been learning to summon the essence of fire and had successfully created a glove of glowing flame, his was green, while hers was blue around their hands, while the skin underneath remained unharmed. The other members of the order had become eerily silent at seeing this display. After they had released the magic, Bríghid had called a stop to the training session. When they reached the village, the other druids all hurried back to their homes after casting nervous glances at Hiccup and Astrid. When Hiccup questioned Bríghid, she simply sighed resignedly.

"They are afraid of you. Or, more correctly, they are not certain if they should be afraid of you or not. The power and control that you continue to display has only been heard of in their legends. Not all of those that have power use their gifts for good. It does tend to bring out the very worst in us, regardless of our initial intentions. Remember this always, Little Shadow, and Little Wielder, for it may be the only thing that protects you from yourselves or those that would use you for their own gain." She looked at them more seriously now.

"It is unclear whether your powers will be a blessing or a curse. Most likely they will be both. It is clear however that those closest to you two will pay the price, no matter how steep. From this point I will be continuing your training on my own. For now, you need to get some sleep. I have much to teach you and I fear we do not have nearly as much time as I would like." Astrid thought it was strange the way she had said 'their legends', as if she was not one of them. She figured it was best to leave it alone though. This night had already become uncomfortable and confusing enough.

Now that the Eret men understood why the high priestess had given him his new name, they had also taken to referring to him as Scath Rothai (meaning Shadow Rider). With all his new found free time, Hiccup had finally been able to complete his bow. (Astrid, after multiple failed attempts, just gave up on her axe, saying, “You know what? I like my current axe.) It was a beautiful thing that curved first one way and then back on itself. After his first attempt had broken, he altered the design until he found one that worked. Made of multiple strips of yew and ash married together with pitch for added strength, the bow was lighter to draw than any other he had ever used. Despite this, the arrow flew truer and delivered more force than he could normally hope to achieve with the traditional Viking longbow. He had also made an identical one for Astrid, who immediately fell in love with it. (“Now I can rain hell from above!” she had exclaimed excitedly, causing everyone to basically suffocate on their laughter.)

Eret the younger had begun to teach them archery from horseback which was much more difficult than standing on the ground. Eret insisted that it would be of great use to know how to use their bows from dragon back since Toothless and Stormfly only had a limited number of their own shots. Hiccup and Astrid had to agree.

***

Back in Berk, Stoick had been furious when he had first discovered his son and Astrid were gone. He had arranged parties to comb the entire island for some sign of them or this mysterious friend that his son had mentioned in his letter. After coming up empty handed, the chief had been ready to send out every able bodied man and woman to sail to every surrounding island in search of the errant children. Only Gobber had been able to talk him down from this with a simple truth.

This was that without knowing where Hiccup and Astrid had been intending to go, they would be unlikely to catch up to him by ship, unless they somehow stumbled upon them by chance. They would do better to wait until they received word from some neighbouring tribe that had seen them. Stoick had conceded to this logic and backed down, but he became sullen and withdrawn from the rest of the tribe.

Stoick blamed himself for driving Hiccup away. And everyone knew Astrid had a crush on him, if the way she looked at him when she thought nobody was watching was any indication, so it only made sense. Though almost every villager agreed with the chief, on both matters none would dare mention it where Stoick might hear, not wanting to be a hypocrite, as they all, Stoick included, blamed themselves for not sticking up for him alongside Astrid when she did, because, while she thought it was a secret that she had a crush on Hiccup, everyone knew otherwise. It wasn’t just the chief who caught her stolen glances, after all. Instead, they were to be found huddled in corners of the mead hall at meal times, often muttering about how the chief's bull-headedness had chased the boy away, just as he was beginning to show some promise. Everyone still praised Hiccup's surprising abilities during dragon training and were certain he would return with some new solution to their current situation.

There had been only two small raids since the night that Hiccup and Astrid had flown away. Stoick had defended against them as best he could, which was pretty well, actually, but despite this, he hoped they would return soon. He was getting _really_ sick and tired of stolen sheep. Sighing, he entered his house, set his helmet on the table, and sat down in the couch before the fire.

Distracted as he was, it took him awhile to notice that there was someone else in the room on the table next to him. Perched on the corner of the table was a small green terrible terror. letting out a shout, he jumped up and went for his sword, but stopped. There was no sound outside, and the little dragon seemed pretty docile. Then he noticed the two rolls of parchment tied to the dragon with a piece of twine.

 _What the fuck?_ Stoick thought as he reached out to quickly untie the scrolls. Once freed from his burden, the dragon promptly scrabbled up Stoick’s shoulder and watched with rapt interest as he unrolled and read the one that was marked with his name:

_Stoick,_

_First off, yes. This is your son. I am alive, and I am well. Astrid is with me, and she is just as alive and well as I am. The terror’s name is Sharpshot, by the way. Anyways, this letter is for you and Astrid’s parents. The other one is for you and Gobber. The information in there is extremely paramount that it gets to both of you. Now for what I wanted to talk to you about here: I’m sorry, Dad. I know you’re worried about me, and as a father, you should be, but don’t worry. I’m fine. Astrid’s fine. We’re both safe. And we’re both sorry for leaving and b]making you guys worry. Sharpshot is not going to leave until he can make sure you and Gobber have seen the other letter._

“Well,” Stoick said aloud to himself, “Looks like I’m getting Gobber, then. Stay here,” he told the little dragon. Then he put on his helmet and left

When he arrived at the forge, he was thankful to find Gobber alone. He did not want to give him the news in front of an audience. Noticing him, Gobber set down the sword he had been sharpening and came over to join him at the doorway to Hiccup's back work room. Stoick couldn't help notice that it had been left untouched and he found that he was glad. But that didn’t matter right now.

“There’s something that you should see,” Stoick simply said.

Shrugging, Gobber followed Stoick back to his house, where Stoick handed him. The rolled parchment. He unrolled the parchment and his eyes went so wide Stoick feared they may pop right out of his skull. "Stoick, have you fucking _read_ this?! Holy shit!"

"Let me see," Stoick said, at which point Gobber handed him the letter, and they read it together.

_Stoick and Gobber,_

_I am writing this letter to tell you both that I, Hiccup, am alive. Also, in case you read this one first, Stoick, the other one is for you and Astrid's parents. She, too, is alive and well. But there is something you both need to know: you don't know what you're up against. Stop hunting for the dragons' nest, as there is a truly_ gargantuan _boulder-type dragon living there. I have found the nest and observed this dragon myself. It is literally the size of a small mountain. I fear that if you go after it, every soul in that village will perish. The dragon uses mind control to control the other dragons. However, that village is outside of the radius where she can capture dragons. She can control already captured dragons that reside within the village, but only for a limited time. Once she loses that control, they're free. If you want to stop the raids for good, capture and trap the mid controlled dragons, and the release them after the connection breaks. That is how I was able to train Toothless, the night fury that I now ride everywhere I go. Astrid rides a deadly nadder. But again, don't kill the beast. Wait until I return._

There was also a quick sketch of a terrifying looking dragon alongside it. The passage stated that Hiccup had been to the dragon's nest and seen what lay in wait there. He claimed it was a boulder class dragon the likes of which they had never seen. According to him, this queen ruled over the nest and used mind control to enslave the other smaller dragons. He begged Gobber and Stoick to stop trying to find the nest for he feared that if they reached it, it would mean the death of the village.

Stoick glanced again at the sketch of the dragon Hiccup had done. It had a large armoured head with six eyes and a huge, gaping maw filled with gigantic dagger-like teeth. The malice radiating from the creature's eyes was enough to chill her to the core despite it being only a drawing. This thing was pure evil. Also, if one assumed that the background proportions were correct, this dragon was enormous. It was easily the size of a small mountain. There was no doubt in Stoick's mind that Hiccup was right. If their ships ever reached dragon island, it would be to find their doom awaiting them. Could a dragon of this size really exist? He had to believe that Hiccup was telling them the truth.

Gobber put the letter back down on the table and looked to Stoick, his eyes as wide as Stoick's. "What can we do? Hiccup is right, we can't beat that thing! Also, Hiccup rides a _night fury?!_ "

Stoick sighed and ran his hand distractedly over his braided moustache; a clear sign that he was doing some hard thinking. He finally turned back to him and said, "I guess I'll have to stop the searches for now. And… I guess so. And he's Astrid into riding dragons, as well. Leave it to him, I guess…"

"And there's one more thing," Gobber said. "I'm interested in how you came ta ‘ave this letter, chief. Because clearly Hiccup wasn't here and you 'aven't seen 'im, or you'd be alot more excited."

Stoick told him about the terrible terror delivering the letters to her. Gobber threw his head back and laughed heartily at this, in turn, causing Stoick to laugh. "Trust tha' boy ta find a way ta' turn a dragon into a messenger boy! Well, if anyone was crazy enough ta’ try it, it would be him. Tha' child always did have more brains than sense." Still laughing, he stood up and patted Stoick on the shoulder and returned to his work on the sword. Entertained by his reaction, Stoick got up and meandered back to her house, her brain filled with questions that had no obvious answers.

***

Hiccup and Astrid’s lives now carried on much the same as they had before Eret had seen Toothless and Stormfly. Their magical training was getting more difficult, but they never confided their thoughts on it to anyone except the Druidess. Toothless and Stormfly continued to attend their riders’ lessons in the stone circle with Brighid, except now they participated as best they could. They seemed to have a lot more difficulty controlling and directing his magic than their human counterparts did. It often just burst out of them at unexpected moments in surprising ways. Hiccup and Astrid did soon realize that they could draw on the magic inside their dragons to strengthen their own power though.

This had come in very handy as Brighid had begun teaching them how to use illusion magic. She had said that it was one of the most difficult abilities to master as it required extremes of both focus and control. She claimed that their skill in the mental arts would be a huge asset. Telling them that she was sure they would be naturals at it.

To their utter surprise, they did excel at it. The young couple found that it was not so different from projecting images and thoughts to the dragons. Soon they were able to force those around them to see whatever they wanted them to just by willing it to happen. They were also quick to realize what a heady and dangerous gift this magic was. They would need to be careful to not abuse it.

These training sessions however, had brought forward a question that Hiccup and Astrid had both been pondering for days. Hiccup finally got up the nerve to ask Brighid at the beginning of their next lesson, sure she would be horrified that they had even thought of such a thing.

"Lady Brighid" he began respectfully. "Astrid and I have had a thought. We are able to manipulate the essences in the earth and air around us and bend them to our will. That essence is simply the life force of the world. Does it not then stand to reason that we could manipulate any essence with our will, including that of animals, or even humans? Also, since we can still sense the essence living inside the body of a fallen tree, does that mean this essence will also linger in the body of animals?"

He said all this whilst not meeting her eye and waited with bated breath for her reaction. She, however, merely smiled mysteriously. "Once again you surprise me, Little Shadow. You have arrived at the one secret that the ancients know, but is never taught to seekers of the arcane arts. You are both correct. If one is powerfully magical enough and their will is strong enough, then it is possible to manipulate the life forces inside all creatures to do your bidding. As essence cannot be destroyed other than by extreme means, it too stands true that this force will linger and take on a new form in sentient creatures as well. It would, therefore, be possible to manipulate this essence as you would any other."

Hiccup and Astrid began to run through scenarios where they flew their dragons to dragon island and through their combined powers, convinced the queen to free her dragon slaves and leave forever. This would mean an end to the war and he would be able to go home to Berk. Just maybe...

Brighid must have seen the telltale gleam in their eyes of a reckless plan in the making for she was quick to bring them back to reality. "You must be very careful with this knowledge, young apprentices. You and your dragons may have great power, but there will always be those that are greater and more powerful than you. Also, every time you manipulate the essence, you take a small part of it into yourselves. This is not dangerous most of the time, as much of the life around us has no particular allegiance or ill will to speak of."

“Be wary of touching the essence or minds of sentient creatures in this way however. They can carry a darkness inside them that may latch itself to you if you are not careful. The more powerful the spell you are casting, the more you will open yourself up to this darkness. If not properly shielded, this darkness will eventually stain your spirit and may drive you mad. It is possible to release or channel this dark essence into an object to prevent the madness, but that object itself would need to be extremely powerful to contain such energies." _Well, there goes that dream,_ they thought morosely.

Brighid allowed them to wallow in defeat for only a moment before she started speaking again. "I feel that it may now be time to extend your training into the 'darker' side of magic. You will likely need the knowledge one day and I would hate to think that I left you unprepared for it. The art of shielding oneself and channeling away dark energy is considered a taboo practice, as you would only need to learn it if you were planning to use dark magic. This is expressly forbidden and the one using it is often considered evil. It is not really all bad though. Without the dark, how would we know of light? Sometimes we must allow the darkness to take the lead, for it is inside all of us and is strong enough to do what is necessary. As long as you do not lose yourself to it, that is."

With this heavy thought, Hiccup and Astrid returned to the village. All their hopes of single handedly defeating the queen of the nest had been dashed from their minds. They couldn't even fathom how powerful and evil she had to be in order to enslave that many dragons. Her spirit had to be twisted beyond repair to be able to warp that many creatures to serve her desires. Maybe one day they would find a way to stop her, but they could not face her alone. Not yet.

When the two humans and dragons arrived at the house, it was to discover that Sharpshot had returned and was waiting for them. He was overly excited that he had managed to deliver the letters to the correct person. " _And he didn't even attack me sir! Sure, he was startled at first when he discovered me in his sleeping room, but then he put his weapon down. And he did get the message. He sent a reply._ " Sharpshot held out a leg to show Hiccup, who untied it.

Opening the letter with Astrid looking over his shoulder, Hiccup read:

_Hiccup,_

_I got your message, obviously. I want to tell you how thankful I am to have gotten this message. After today, the day I am writing this letter, I am holding a village-wide meeting. We’re stopping the hunts. I don’t know where you are, or how long we can hold out against the dragons, but I do know this: I don’t want your return. Not until you know how to kill this beast. I don’t care how long you’re gone, just be safe, and only come back with that knowledge. Again, Hiccup and Astrid, and this is coming from Gobber and her parents too, be safe. And we’ll use your information to free the dragons she controls. Godspeed._

_Signed,_

_~Stoick_

“You heard the man,” Hiccup said, turning to Astrid. “Let’s kill us an evil dragon queen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... that was unexpected, right?


	5. The meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a mini chapter to show what happened at the meeting in Berk.  
> Also, never mind the hiatus. There is going to be one day where I won't be able to post every now and then, but I don't think a hiatus is going to be necessary actually... (unless I get writers' block, which I don't think I will)

“Listen up!” Stoick called out over the din of the crowd of villagers, trying to get their attention. The din quieted to silence.

“Now, I called this meeting here today because I got a letter from Hiccup.” A murmur rippled through the crowd. “Yes, my son sent me a letter. How doesn’t matter, right now. All that matters are its contents. In it contains a warning that I have no choice to share with you, as it is going to influence my next course of action. Hiccup states that he found the dragons’ nest, and in it, he speaks of a massive boulder-type dragon, the likes we’ve never seen before. If his words and drawings are to be believed, this fucker is the size of a small _mountain_.” Another murmur, this time slightly louder. “It is for this reason that I have to make the difficult decision to stop hunting the nest, until he gets back, which could take years.” At this, the crowd started to protest.

“What?! No!”

“Are you fucking _crazy_?!”

“We need to find this thing and kill it!”

Just then, Gobber took his mace and slammed it on the table. “ ** _SHUT IT!!!_** ” He screamed, silencing the crowd. “Let the chief speak.”

“Now, the thing is, this dragon is controlling all of the other dragons within a certain radius. Apparently, according to Hiccup, the radius that she can capture dragons is smaller than the radius where she can control dragons, and if a dragon stays out of this so-called ‘capture radius,’ they will be released from this queen’s mind control. We are, supposedly, outside of the capture zone, but not the control zone, and are one of the few human settlements to be so. This puts us in a unique position: we can free these poor bastards.

“To quote Hiccup, ‘This thing, she is evil and needs to be destroyed at all costs.’ That’s how you know it’s a bad dragon. If a dragon lover wants it dead, then it _needs_ to be dead. But, again, we cannot go after it with ships, because it will absolutely _annihilate_ them, and we cannot go after it with freed dragons, because it can control them. The best we can do is sit tight and wait for Hiccup to return.

“And what help is he going to bring us?” someone in the crowd demanded.

“Apparently, Hiccup has a friend who knows how to kill this thing. Oh, and by the way, I forgot to mention: Hiccup and Astrid are now riding dragons of their own. In fact Astrid is on a deadly nadder, while Hiccup is on a night fury.”

At that, the silence became utterly _deafening_ . Even the crickets were stunned into silence! And then, someone spoke: “Dude, your son’s a fucking _badass_!”

“He _tamed_ a _night fury?!_ ”

“Holy _shit_! What the hell, man! Your son tamed the _very_ embodiment of lightning and _death_?!”

The only thing going through Stoick’s mind: _Yes, yes, and yes. I don’t even know how, but be afraid, people. Be_ very _afraid._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Stoick may see ooc at first, but if you look a bit deeper, this is actually very in character for him. He puts the safety of his people first, and is competent enough to recognise and stay away from a fight he can't win. He knows that without Hiccup, this will be one of those fights, and if he attempts to engage it, almost everyone in the village will end up getting wiped out, if not the entire village.


	6. Friend? Or foe?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like how I say that "I'm going to go on hiatus starting today," and the literal _next_ day, I post, not one, but _two_ chapters! Yeah... I don't know what hiatus means apparently lol...  
> Also, _two_ chapters in _one_ day?! Holy shit, John, you're on a roll!

Hiccup sat astride the saddle, clinging tight with his knees as he stretched his arms out to the sides, while Astrid giggled as she watched him. Closing his eyes, he revelled in the feel of the wind on his face. Though it was nearly summer, the air still held the chill of spring. It did not bother the young riders. He just felt a wonderful sense of freedom as he rode the currents with his brother. Again, though, Astrid and Stormfly were just amused by his antics.

It had been nearly a year since they had left Berk behind and they were now 16 years old. His rite of passage into manhood, and her rite of passage into womanhood were celebrated quietly with new friends instead of the ridiculous ceremony that would have been required back home. They had to admit that they had found themselves a comfortable place here. Eret senior had even offered him a permanent job in the forge, and both of them a permanent place at their home. Hiccup and Astrid, however, found that they were unable to accept this offer.

The place and people were pleasant enough, but it just didn't feel like home. There was a nagging sense in their cores that said they weren’t supposed to stay here. Perhaps it was just what Gobber used to call 'Wanderlust'. Many a Viking had suddenly acquired a taste for adventure and could no longer settle in any one place. Convinced that something better was waiting just over the horizon. Toothless and Stormfly felt much the same way. Whatever the reason, the four of them had been using any free time they could wrangle to get out flying.

They had begun to venture further afield during these flights. Hiccup and Astrid had started to notice that there were many other smaller villages scattered about inland. They had also begun to suspect that this land was not as large as it had originally appeared. That it was, in fact, a substantially sized island. Perhaps one day they and their dragons would just continue flying until they discovered what, if anything, lay beyond the boundaries.

Toothless curved his wings around an updraft and brought him and Hiccup into a slow backwards flip, ending back below the cloud cover (Astrid, after her slightly traumatizing first flight, refused to go upside down on her dragon, instead going below the cloud cover the standard way). It was dark enough now for them to be hidden from view against the sky. They were just about to make another lazy turn and begin their leisurely glide back to the village when Hiccup spotted strange lights and fires on the ground. Seating himself properly in the saddle, he pointed it out to Astrid before pointing Toothless downwards towards the scene, hoping to get a better view. 

" _There is some sort of small battle going on down there, I think,_ ” came Stormfly’s voice in their heads. As they got nearer, even Hiccup and Astrid's weaker human ears could hear the sounds of men shouting and metal clashing. They swooped in close and saw a small village under siege. Running along one whole side of the village was a stone wall with a large gate. Hiccup could see a group of men from one of the northern tribes fighting with what appeared to be soldiers in full battle dress.

While the soldiers were distracted, the remaining tribesmen were busy raiding the village of valuables. Even at a quick glance Hiccup and Astrid could tell that the soldiers, though highly skilled, would not win. They were severely out-numbered. Even if they did manage to drive off the men they were fighting, the village would already be devastatingly pillaged.

“We have to help them!” Astrid said, her voice distraught. Without replying, Hiccup urged Toothless down and they began to fire shots at the raiding barbarians, Astrid following suit. The dragons were careful to avoid hitting any of the homes with their fire blasts. Igniting the village would be the opposite of helpful. Hiccup grabbed his bow and quiver from the saddle bag and began firing arrows at the tribesmen that were clashing with the soldiers, while Astrid took a more direct approach, swooping Stormfly low so that she could jump down and start fighting them with her axe, melee style. It didn't take long before the tribesmen simply lowered their weapons and fled back through the gate in the wall. They did not care to face two angry dragons that they could not see, and a crazy lady with a battle axe. The soldiers however, were looking up to the sky in search of their salvation.

When Toothless, with Hiccup on top, and Stormfly, who’s rider was already standing on the ground with a bloodied axe, chanced a land on the ground, most of them dropped their weapons and lowered to the ground in stunned obeisance. This being must have been sent by the gods in answer to their prayers for aid. Hiccup merely stared around at the men, confused by their behaviour. Surely they had seen a dragon before? From amongst the ranks, an older man rose slowly to stride forward.

Bowing once again to Hiccup, Astrid, Stormfly, and Toothless, he began to speak in a new language than any Hiccup had heard yet. With Toothless translating for them, Hiccup tried to convey to the soldier as best he could that he did not speak their language. Realization dawned in the man's eyes and he instantly switched to a Celtic language similar to what Eret's tribe spoke. "My name is Marcus Laelius and I am the commander of this particular garrison. I offer you my gratitude for your assistance in defending the Empire during this skirmish. I must know something however before I offer you any other boon. Are you ally or enemy to my Emperor?"

 _What a strange name,_ Hiccup thought. These men seemed civilized enough and they were certainly well equipped for battle despite their small number. What was an emperor? Was that what they called their chief? Toothless mentally shrugged at him, being unfamiliar with the term as well.

" _We must be careful how we respond. We do not want to offend them, but we do not know to whom they answer and would not want to give them our allegiance without further information,_ " Toothless said. As happened so often, Hiccup and Astrid were surprised at the amount of insight Toothless displayed. He, in fact, often possessed more knowledge of the complexities of human politics than most of the Vikings back on Berk. After deliberating for a moment on his words, Hiccup gave the best answer he could think of.

"We are no enemy to you. Nor are we an ally to your emperor, whom I assume to be your ruler or chief. Our dragons and we are free to assist those we choose instead of being bound to one empire. That is the way we wish to remain. We simply saw that your men were out-numbered and granted our aid. We do not approve of one sided battles and the lowly tactics of destroying homes and food needed by the common villagers. We could not simply turn my back and allow the people to starve."

***

Marcus was rather impressed with this answer. _So these kids were mercenaries who refused to be ruled or bought,_ he thought. He wondered if they were available as soldiers for hire instead, and if so, what their price would be. He was certain that Emperor Hadrian would be more than happy to offer almost anything to have a soldier on dragon back assisting his legions, let alone two, even if one was, god forbid, a woman. _Seriously. Women are a thousand times smarter and more mature than men. Get your head out of your stuck-up ass and see this for yourself, you moron-for-an-emperor!_ He shook his head and focused on the present. The riders seemed intelligent, and he was also sitting astride a large black dragon, while she was standing next to a large blue one. Marcus knew that he would have to word his offer very carefully if the riders were to trust him. They could just as easily destroy the whole village and garrison on their own well before cavalry reinforcements could arrive from the nearest fort.

"Young man, and young woman, we are in your debt. We are but a small garrison stationed to defend this particular gate. I am sure that my Emperor would grant you almost any compensation you might desire in return for defending his lands and people. If I may be so bold, I would ask you both to consider meeting with Emperor Hadrian in person. He is to be making a visit to our command headquarters in Petriana over the next moon to assess the defences himself. If you would be willing to hold a council with him at that time, myself and a few of my soldiers are already preparing to travel there to meet with him. We would welcome you to accompany us and I can offer you my guarantee that no harm will come to you or your dragon as long as you are with me."

Seeing the doubt crossing the young rider's face, Marcus was quick to add, "you would not be required to state any allegiance at this time. There will be many outsiders present at the headquarters. It is also a time to barter treaties with the surrounding Britons. We offer local tribes north of the wall traded goods and protection in exchange for art, food, and supplies that the empire requires or desires. We are not at war with most of the tribes beyond the wall. Only a few have caused us issue, so we usually do not see fit to close our gates to outsiders that may need shelter overnight."

He glanced resignedly around at the signs of battle in the village. "The type of skirmish you both witnessed is a rare occurrence, and thus we are not as well outfitted to repel such invasions as I would like. Once again I thank you both for your assistance."

***

Hiccup and Astrid consulted Toothless before answering the commander. "What do you think bud?” Hiccup asked. 

“Should we take his offer to meet this Hadrian? We don't need to promise anything to anyone, and we could probably fight our way out if they try anything funny," Astrid continued off of what Hiccup was saying. Hiccup felt the vibration through the saddle as Toothless hummed his agreement.

" _This is true. Judging by what we have seen here, this man's words ring true. They are not outfitted for major battle and are no better armed than most villages in the archipelago. We also have the added benefit that they are clearly not practiced in the ways of dragon fighting. Did you see their faces when we landed before them? Fucking_ priceless _._ "

Allowing themselves a soft chuckle at Toothless' words, the riders turned to Marcus again. "We accept your offer to accompany you,” Hiccup said. “If this is a trick, be warned, we can destroy you as easily as we can defend you. Do not make us regret our actions here.”

“Yeah, because if you do, you get the _axe_!” Astrid agreed, rather bluntly. _Where in the_ hel _did_ that _come from?!_ Hiccup wondered. _I kinda like this side of her…_

"Consider your warning heeded, young riders," Marcus said. "I do not doubt that you would be dangerous foes if I were to double-cross you, and I value my life too much for that.”

“Good. Now, when will you be departing for this Petriana place?" Hiccup then asked.

“We shall leave in 10 days time. Meet us here if you wish to travel with me and my men."

Hiccup nodded once, and he and Astrid prepared to begin the flight back to the village. They would need to consult the Eret men about this before deciding his course of action in Petriana. Before Toothless and Stormfly could lift off, however, Marcus held up his hand, begging Hiccup and Astrid to pause. "Wait a moment, young riders. I must send a runner ahead to prepare the outpost's garrison for your arrival. It may help to make it less of a shock for them. May I ask you what names I should give them?"

Hiccup and Astrid looked down at their dragons who gave them a wink and a nod of approval. If they were going to continue fleeing the past, they might as well do the thing properly. Hiccup smiled at the commander and replied in a tone of authority, "You may call me Scath Rothai." Then, Toothless extended his wings and leapt into the night sky, leaving only a gust of wind behind them.

“And call me Axe,” Astrid said in a more casual, cocky, way. after which Stormfly repeated the same actions as Toothless, the two disappearing into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta say, I'm kind of proud of the nickname I gave Astrid. I think it fits.


	7. Mercenary for hire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I lied. _three_ chapters in one day! Why is this so easy to Convert?! TriumphantFury, I need your help. This process is so easy it's actually sus. Am I missing any important details?

It was late in the evening by the time the riders and dragons made it back to the village. Leaving their dragons at the forge, Hiccup and Astrid practically ran to the home they had shared with the Eret family for nearly a year. Eret the younger greeted them jovially as they entered. "Scath! Astrid! You made it! We wondered if perhaps you had fallen off those dragons of yours and we needed to come rescue you two out of a bog."

Laughing, Hiccup and Astrid greeted Mrs. Eretson before joining the men by the fire with a tankard of mead. Hiccup began to fill them in about the fight they had seen and their intervention, followed by the proposition from the commander. Both men listened intently. When he had finished with their story, Hiccup asked seriously, "What do you think? Were we right to accept his offer?"

Eret the elder scratched his chin thoughtfully for a moment. "He told you both the truth. We ourselves have traded goods with the Romans beyond the wall. They are mostly peaceable men sent to protect and oversee the trade at the border and represent the empire. The empire itself is supposed to be incredibly vast and drowning in wealth. I have only witnessed this wealth in some of the goods I have received from them. I can show you."

With that he got up and left the room, returning promptly with a small, ornately carved wooden box. He handed it to Hiccup, who, along with Astrid, took a moment to appreciate the skill that had gone into crafting the box alone before opening the lid. Inside it was a pair of earrings and a necklace made with some sort of iridescent stone that shone rainbow colours in the fire light. Beside those was a small glass bottle of liquid. They looked up questioningly at Eret senior and asked, "What are these things? Where did they come from?"

"I traded two very fine saddles for them with a man across the wall and brought them home for my wife. The jewelry is made from a substance they call mother-of-pearl which is apparently harvested from inside the shells of oysters. The bottle contains a substance called perfume, which comes in many different fragrances and is used by the wearer to give themselves an appealing aroma. This particular perfume comes from an oil procured from the petals of a flower they call a rose. According to the trader, the empire has scores of products like this available everywhere. It seems to be an extravagant waste of effort and resources to us."

Hiccup picked up the bottle and removed the stopper. Lifting it to his nose he inhaled the delicate scent of fresh flowers. It was a divine and intoxicating smell unlike anything he had ever experienced. He longed to know how it was made. Did the women of Rome really smell like this? It must be terribly distracting for the men if that was the case. He let Astrid have a whiff, after which she promptly asked, “Can I keep this? Pleeeaaassseee??? I think it would be fun to use around Hiccup!”

“Astrid, why do you have to torture me like this?” Hiccup asked.

“Because it’s… fun?” Astrid answered cheekily.

“Yes, Astrid, you can keep the perfume. I don’t like the smell. Too girly,” Mrs. Eretson called from the other room.

“Yay!”

“You are gonna be the death of me one day, you know that?”

“Would you rather have it any other way?”

“No.”

“Good.” Astrid pecked him on the nose.

Toothless and Stormfly chuckled through their connection at the direction their conversation had taken. _Stupid, judgemental reptiles!_ Picking up the necklace, he held it up to the fires glow and watched the beautiful rainbow patterns glisten and dance over the surface. _If these were the common man's trade items, what other incredible knowledge did these Romans possess?_

The riders could sense their dragons’ approval through their bond as they made their decision. They would offer their services to this emperor if he proved to be an honest enough man. This should gain them access to the wonders and knowledge of the empire without them having to swear fealty to anyone and renounce their ties to their homeland. Both of the Erets agreed with them. Eret the younger even went so far as to say that if he wasn't needed to help support his family here, he would gladly assist Hiccup and Astrid on this venture. 

"You two will have to send word to us with Sharpshot and let us know if the tales about the empire are true." Eret the elder joked with them. As they prepared to turn in for the night Hiccup sent one last thought to Toothless and Stormfly through the connection. He and Astrid had talked about and agreed upon an idea of a way to repay the Eretson family for their hospitality and kindness towards a young couple with very little to offer.

" _Should be an interesting adventure. I suggest we arrive better prepared this time, otherwise you can find a way to get there yourself._ " Toothless's grumbled reply left him laughing. The dragon had a point though. Hiccup would have to think up some way to protect his brother this time around. The perfect solution came to him just before he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning Hiccup and Astrid sought out Brighid to tell her the news and also to let her know they would not be able to meet with her the next couple of days. She agreed that their plan was a good one and with that, they left. It took them most of the day to reach Melody Island as they had decided to call it. The four of them set up camp on a nearby sea stack, not wanting to spend the night in constant worry. They awoke with the dawn and after fitting some crude moss earplugs into Toothless and Stormfly’s' ear flaps, they made their way to the shore. Hiccup began to gather as many of the strange orange stones that Eret had called amber from the beach as he could carry. Loading the saddle bags while Toothless kept his ever watchful eyes turned to the forest.

Just as they were about to leave Hiccup and Astrid heard a dragon screeching in fear. The four of them took off towards the sound, but stopped when they saw a large and brightly coloured dragon devouring a nadder. The poor creature seemed to be encased in a cocoon of the same orange amber from the beach. When they tried to swoop in closer, the strange dragon shot a stream of the orange goo towards them that Toothless barely dodged. It was a hard decision, but they both knew that it was too late for the nadder, so they turned tail and fled from the island.

The four of them conversed about this new discovery on their way back to the mainland. Hiccup decided that the thing must use its call to lure the dragons in. Then it traps them with the amber so that they can't escape before it eats them. _How horrible to be eaten while defenceless and still alive,_ he thought. _Circle of life, though._

Arriving back at the village, Hiccup and Astrid went straight to Eret the elder and offered him the amber. They explained where they had found it, but conveniently left out the actual directions to the island. It was a good source of wealth for them, as well as an incredibly dangerous place to venture on foot. Astrid did tell Eret about the dragon. She and Hiccup had decided to call it a Death Song because once you hear its song, you're dead. Eret had heard stories about such a creature from other trappers, but had not put much stock in them. He did agree with the couple that it was not to be trifled with. He himself feared what could become of the dragon trade if the trappers were to get their greedy hands on a dragon that could call and trap others.

Eret had tried to refuse the gift, saying it was far too much. Hiccup and Astrid however, laughed and stated that it was the least they could do after losing the family their dragon trapping income. "Now you can support your family in the lean times until you can find another way to earn extra money" was Hiccup's argument.

Finally, Eret senior agreed to take the large pouch full of amber. "Ah, perhaps you are right. Maybe we will go into the livestock business instead," Eret chuckled as he weighed the pouch in his hand.

Satisfied that he had repaid his debt in full, Hiccup and Astrid used some of the silver pieces they still had from Berk to purchase supplies for their trip. He also made some extra arrows for his and Astrid’s bows, since he was not sure when he would next have use of a forge on their journey. They had no idea how far this Petriana was from Marcus' garrison outpost, nor how far they would need to travel after that.

Hiccup and Astrid spent the next few days packing all their supplies and saying their farewells to the villagers. On the last day he went to meet with Bríghid in the stone circle. She smiled at them as they arrived. "That was very kind of you to offer so much in repayment to Eret. I saw him leaving his home for the forge and he was practically skipping. If I am correct, you have made yourself some very loyal friends and allies here in your short stay. You will be terribly missed by many."

Her words surprised the couple. Surely she knew they weren't leaving forever. "You speak as if we will never return here, my lady. You know we will miss this place too much to stay away. The wealth of the empire could not rob us of loyalty to the friends who have shown us such kindness."

"I fear that you will not be able to return as soon as you may think. Indeed it may be some time before the villagers see you again and your stay will not be a lengthy one at that. Your destiny leads you to the lands of our southern neighbours, but that is only the beginning. I have prepared you two as best I can. My only advice is to keep your magic, mind, and body in top form at all times. You will need all three to face the challenges ahead. Do not let your skills wane due to lack of challengers. It would be best to keep your magic hidden from others though. It would only be coveted, feared, or misused and is not for the uninitiated."

"Have you received another vision, Master Bríghid?" Astrid asked, feeling she already knew the answer.

"I have indeed. I have foreseen a winding path stretching out ahead of you and you should know that not every turn will lead to happiness. There will be darkness in your future and it is unavoidable. Allow it to shape you, but not to define you. It will make you stronger in the end. Remember what I said about those in power wanting to use you for their own gain. You must make your own choices with your heart. Follow it, for it will never lead you astray. You and I will meet again someday, though it will not be for many years and in a place you least expect."

She reached a hand into her robe and produced two small amulets each in the shape of an intricate twined knot and fashioned into a type of necklace. Placing the leather chord of one around Hiccup’s neck, and the other around Astrid’s, she said, "Take these. It will help to protect you from those that seek to harm or control you. I have bestowed my personal blessing upon them. That will mean much more to you in the coming years than it does now. Good luck, Scáth Rothaí and Axe. Yes, I know about your little self-given nickname, Astrid.” She blushed, causing Brighid to smirk. “I shall be interested to see what you both have become when we next meet."

With that she left them alone in the circle. They never really put much store in prophecy, but they couldn't help believing Brighid when she spoke of their future. Maybe they would be away longer than planned. The future was a twisting and winding path, as she had said. They didn't like the promise of darkness ahead, but she had said that it was unavoidable. They supposed they would just have to face it when it came.

Fingering the necklace she had given him, Hiccup wondered what exactly she had seen in her vision. Seers were always so cryptic. He tucked the amulet beneath his tunic and he was surprised to find that it felt pleasantly warm against his skin, rather than cold as he had expected the metal to be. Taking one final look around the circle, he said to Astrid, “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” she answered. Then, they began to make their way back to the village for the last time.

***

Hiccup and Astrid had arrived at the outpost early in the morning to find Marcus and his men finishing the last of their preparations for travel. According to the commander, it would take three days by horse to reach Petriana. Toothless and Stormfly grumbled at this, claiming they could be there by tomorrow. Hiccup and Astrid agreed, but they needed to make a good impression on the emperor if their plan was to work. Abandoning their escort because they were impatient would hardly cast an honest light on them. Unfortunately they would have to travel at horse speed.

So here they were, on the final day of travel. Hiccup and Astrid had taken up Marcus on his offer of a couple of horses since they knew that Toothless and Stormfly would be unable to move easily on the ground at this pace. They had found it much easier to ride the simple beasts than it had been to learn to fly on dragons. Once again they were grateful to Eret for all of his patient teachings, though the slow, jarring pace and lack of involvement on his part left him sore in entirely new places. This caused Toothless and Stormfly endless hysteria as they watched their riders hobble around every evening after dismounting from their steeds. The dragons also felt the need to remind them at these moments that they could have been there already if they hadn't insisted on travelling at "land speed".

At last the main gates of the village came into view in the distance. Marcus felt it would make an impressive statement if they were to arrive at the headquarters on their dragons instead of by horse. Gratefully, Hiccup and Astrid agreed and Toothless and Strormfly were instantly on the ground as if waiting for this moment. Hiccup and Astrid climbed onto their respective dragons, backs and they took off. The pair of dragons made a couple of quick side-by-side loops to let off steam before returning to lazily glide over the heads of the soldiers and their mounts.

***

Marcus smiled up at them. _I was right,_ he thought. This sight would be a spectacular one to behold. Almost wishing that he could be on the other side of the gate to experience it, he squared his shoulders and spurred his horse to a swift canter, his men following his lead.

It was exactly as Marcus had hoped. Commoners, soldiers, and nobles alike all stared in awe as the men cantered through the open gate. The great dragons and their riders swooping in above them. After a moment of silence the gathered crowds began to cheer at the sight. The group made their way straight to the main fort in the centre of the townsite where the Imperial Guard was awaiting them. News of the dragon riders had clearly arrived before them as the captain stepped forward to offer his greetings to the young riders as soon as their dragons touched down. With quick efficiency, he ushered Hiccup and Astrid inside as Marcus followed with his men behind them, Toothless and Stormfly remaining outside in the courtyard due to their size.

***

The couple was brought to a central dining hall. Here they were confronted with the sight of an assortment of powerful looking men on a raised dais. They were all gathered around the one who must be Hadrian. The men had an array of skin tones, from the familiar fair skin of the northern regions, to a richer brown or black that was new to Hiccup and Astrid. Despite the differences in their appearances, they all had a distinct air of wealth about them, their clothes all richly coloured and decorated. The man in the centre turned to the riders and eyed them speculatively. He was adorned in even more finery than his advisors and he sported short brown hair and a closely cropped beard. He did at least look the part of a powerful ruler.

Motioning to Marcus to step forward and act as interpreter, he addressed Hiccup and Astrid directly. "I had heard that there was to be a young man and woman with dragons accompanying the garrison under Praetor Marcus. You are not exactly what I had in mind, but that is not really surprising given the circumstances. We have never seen dragon riders before now. I suppose I figured you two would be much more imposing to have tamed a dragon."

Hiccup and Astrid bristled at the man's words, but refused to let it show. They wanted something from this man and had spent the majority of their lives dealing with bullies, Astrid always on Hiccup’s behalf. Besides, in a battle of wits Hiccup and Astrid knew that Hiccup could best most men easily. He had always had a quick tongue. "We are sorry to disappoint you, sir. I assume it is easier to fly with a lighter load to carry. Besides, our dragons are not tamed. Brute force would be of little help. They allow us to fly with them as friends and allies, not as thralls. If someone tried to bend them to their will, they would probably just eat them. Or throw them off over the open ocean and let them drown." Hiccup shrugged lightly and met Hadrian's gaze straight on, his lips twisting into a lopsided smirk.

Marcus looked slightly nervous at this exchange as he repeated Hiccup's words. He clearly couldn't believe this small boy was openly challenging the Emperor. To his utter shock, Hadrian simply smiled and nodded to the riders. He then waved his advisors away, leaving the three men and one woman alone together. Hiccup allowed his gaze to follow the other men out of the room before turning back to Hadrian and clasping his hands behind his back, Astrid doing the same. It was a quietly defiant gesture that gave the impression of polite attention and Hadrian burst out laughing.

"You have spirit, young riders. I will give you that. It seems to me that neither you nor your dragons are truly as tame as you first appear. My apologies. I have received Praetor Marcus' report and I believe that I owe you both a debt of gratitude for your assistance in securing my Empire's borders. Ask your price, young riders, and it shall be yours, if it is in my power to grant that is. Even you, young lady. I typically don’t have women fight in my army, but I’ll make this one exception. Women, after all, have a lot more that could go wrong than men, heath issue wise, and sometimes we can’t help them out in the field, _Markus_."

“I understand, sir,” he said. “Doesn’t change the fact that they are smarter than us though,” he whispered under his breath.

Hiccup and Astrid were confused by this little exchange, but chose not to question it.

Having planned their words well in advance with Eret the elder, Toothless, and Stormfly, Hiccup and Astrid were ready for the Emperor’s response. "I would ask you to grant us access to your empire with all the privileges of a citizen, whilst retaining our free will and culture,” Astrid said. “In trade, we will provide our services to your army in the protection of your subjects.”

“We also must retain our right to decide how and where our services are provided,” Hiccup interjected. “We will not fight a dishonorable war against the innocent for material gain, regardless of the compensation. We all know that having a dragon fighting on your side will greatly bolster your power and influence over the people of your empire. If you try to abuse that power, we will withdraw our services immediately."

***

Hadrian considered this proposition for a moment. The riders both had very clever minds and they were clearly well versed in politics. They were correct. Just the tales of, not one, but _two_ dragons leading his army would be enough to squash many rebellions or invasions before they even started! It was unfortunate that he wished to stay a free agent, but if that was the price, he would pay it. It would not be the first time that Rome had employed foreigners during their campaigns. This agreement would most likely prove to be even more advantageous than most.

"So you wish to be a mercenary?" He questioned to ensure that he had understood the young people correctly. When they nodded their affirmatives, Hadrian glanced once at Marcus before giving his answer. "Very well then. I accept your terms, young riders. You will both be given lodgings in the capital near the Imperial Guard and receive salaries from the Empire that should more than cover any other desires.”

“I am grateful that you are willing to lend your services to the protection of my people as I have long considered the fortifying of the Empire to be of higher value than conquering more lands. You shall be free to move about as you wish and will be treated as a citizen of Rome. You are now officially in the employ of the Empire and I am glad to have you stand with me. Welcome to the Roman Army, Scáth Rothaí and Axe."

The young riders smiled at the Emperor and gave him a deep bow with an exaggerated flourish. "At your service, my liege," Astrid said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After this story is done, I kind of want to write a How to Train Your Dragon/Marvel/Deadpool crossover. It would be a comedy crackfic. Would you guys read that?

**Author's Note:**

> This work will likely receive an update every day, except for Saturdays and Sundays, as the computer lab is closed those days, and I can't type a story very well on my phone. If I miss an update, I'll tell you in the comments why.  
> Edit: actually, this work IS going on hiatus until TriumphantFury can finish writing the "Gift of Power" trilogy so I can finish reading it. There. There's your incentive to finish. In the meantime, I have another story idea in mind while you all wait: "Dance of Power, but it's on crack." Trust me, it's going to be a weird one lol.


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